In a bid to strengthen ties with Russia, Saudi Arabia Monarch, King Salman Ibn Abdulaziz has made a visit to Russia. The visit is the first a Saudi King has made to the country.
The King met President Vladimir Putin, Thursday, to discuss joint steps to further develop bilateral cooperation in trade, economic investment and cultural humanitarian areas.
Welcoming King Salman to the Kremlin, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said:
“This is the first visit by a Saudi Arabian monarch in the history of our relations and that in itself is a landmark event”
“I’m sure your visit will boost the ties between our countries.”
Responding, the Saudi Monarch said:
“We aim to strengthen our relations in the interests of peace and security, in the interests of developing the world economy”.
In his opening remarks, King Salman stressed his opposition to Iran, saying:
“We emphasise that the security and stability of the Gulf region and the Middle East is an urgent necessity for achieving stability and security in Yemen”.
“This would demand that Iran give up interference with the internal affairs of the region, to give up actions destabilising the situation in this region.”
Over 15 cooperation agreements worth billions of pounds were signed ranging from oil, military, space exploration among others. The Saudi Government have also indicated interest in buying the Russian S-400 defence system.
King Salman arrived in Moscow Wednesday and is expected to leave by weekend.
