Historic summit cements ties between Riyadh and Moscow

The Saudi-Russian summit in Moscow between King Salman Bin Abdulaziz and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday cemented the relationship between the two countries.

The kingdom signed a number of key economic and military agreements with Russia including the setup of a joint Saudi-Russian investment fund worth $1 billion.

An agreement on joint military cooperation was also signed alongside an agreement to purchase Russian missile defense platforms.

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”We look forward to strengthening relations with Russia to serve global stability,” King Salman said.

He said that the kingdom wants to intensify efforts to combat extremism and terrorism and to drain its sources of funding and further called for the establishment of a UN center to combat terrorism.

“We will continue to work with Russia to stabilize oil prices,” King Salman added.

The king stressed the need to work to stop the suffering of the Palestinian people and establish a Palestinian state. He also stressed the need to stop Iran’s interference in the internal affairs of countries in the region.

In his statement the king emphasized the importance of a political solution to the Yemeni crisis and Syria as well as the importance of the unity of Iraq.

“The world must take responsibility for what is happening to the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar,” King Salman said.

Russian president Vladimir Putin hailed the historical relations between Riyadh and Moscow.

“I am confident that your visit will give a great impetus to the joint relations,” Putin said.

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An invitation was extended to the Russian president to visit the kingdom. “I would like to invite your excellency to visit the kingdom to complete our consultations on issues of common interest,” he said.

King Salman on Friday is scheduled to meet with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

President Putin stressed on the importance Russia attaches to relations with the Kingdom. He said that the talks will include all aspects of cooperation between the two countries and the most urgent international issues, with particular attention to the situation in the Middle East and ways of resolving the crises in the region.