Putin to King Salman: Continuation of Gulf crisis does not serve Middle East stability

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a telephone conversation that the ongoing crisis with Qatar does not serve the interest of Middle East’s stability and joint efforts to fight terrorism, according to a statement by the Kremlin.

The statement said that Putin and King Salman discussed the situation in the Gulf region, including relations between Qatar and other countries.

Putin explained to the Saudi king that the ongoing crisis with Qatar “does not serve the interest of the Middle East’s stability, and does not contribute to the consolidation of joint efforts to fight terrorism,” according to the same source.

The Gulf has been hit by a crisis that started on 5 June after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut off ties with Qatar and imposed punitive measures on the grounds of “supporting terrorism,” which Doha denied.

Timeline: Arab rift with Qatar

According to the Kremlin statement, during a telephone conversation President Putin and King Salman “continued exchanging points of views on the situation in Syria.”

During the conversation, the two sides also discussed “the issue of technical military cooperation between the two countries,” according to the same source.

Relations between Moscow and Riyadh have recently witnessed a growing rapprochement. In October, King Salman visited Moscow in a historic visit during which he met with Putin and senior Russian officials, and the two countries signed economic and military agreements worth billions of dollars.