Manama: Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa has called for a prompt end to the current situation in Syria, and stressed the need to work out a comprehensive political solution that achieves reform and political pluralism there.
He warned that the continuity of the status quo in Syria would provide an environment that would attract terrorists from all over the world.
King Hamad, who on Sunday held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Presidential Palace in Sochi to discuss bilateral relations and regional developments, stressed the importance of an effective role by Russia in achieving reforms in Syria and in ensuring the right of all Syrians to build a secure and stable country.
Russia, a strong country with a strong leader, can play a pivotal role in overcoming the challenges facing the world, within the framework of international legitimacy, Bahrain News Agency (BNA) quoted King Hamad as saying.
The Bahraini monarch lauded Russia’s support to efforts to combat terror groups and organisations, stressing Bahrain’s unwavering support to the efforts of the international community to fight all forms of terrorism and dry up its financing in order to safeguard global security and peace.
“Terrorism has nothing to do with religion,” he said, noting that the precepts and values of the Islamic religion rejected terrorist acts.
King Hamad said that the meeting with President Putin was an opportunity for the two countries to reaffirm their joint wish to bolster bilateral relations in all fields.
He added that he discussed with President Putin regional and global issues, noting that the two countries’ stances towards those matters were nearly similar.
King Hamad said that Bahrain and Russia boasted a common heritage and many areas of bilateral cultural, economic and strategic cooperation.
In his statement, President Putin praised Russia’s relations with Bahrain, noting that the two countries would next year celebrate the 25th anniversary of their diplomatic ties.
He said the relations have grown remarkably since then and intensive contacts had been made.
President Putin accepted an invitation from King Hamad to visit Bahrain and said the date would be determined later.
Several cooperation programmes in the fields of culture and tourism were signed between the two countries during the visit.
