Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister, Mohammad Bin Salman, on Tuesday started a visit to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on bilateral relations, and relations with both Syria and Iran, Saudi press reports said.
Prince Mohammad will sign a number of cooperation protocols between the two countries, the reports said.
“The visit of Prince Mohammad Bin Salman to Moscow is very important in its timing, because it comes after the visit of US President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia as his first official trip overseas, and what accompanied this visit, including the Gulf-US Summit and the Arab-Islamic-US Summit,” Saudi Ambassador to Russia Abdul Rahman Bin Ebrahim Al Rossi was quoted by the pan-Arab Saudi-owned Arabic-language newspaper of Asharq Al Awsat.
Al Rossi explained that there is a mutual desire to enhance cooperation between Riyadh and Moscow on all levels, and in line with the Saudi and Russian leaderships for the benefit of the two peoples and to strengthen the security and stability in the region.
Both Moscow and Riyadh are backing opposing sides in the Syrian war. While Riyadh is supporting the opposition, Russia strongly supports Bashar Al Assad.
Although opposition and government negotiators have failed to reach a deal, there are hopes that foreign powers will be able to force a settlement.
Saudi-Russian talks follow a meeting between Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, during which both men had mainly tackled the crisis in Syria.
