Saudi Arabia visit sees Lavrov meet senior officials

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with top Saudi Arabian officials on Monday during an official visit to Riyadh, Anadolu has reported.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov held talks with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi. The minister apparently defined developing ties with the Gulf countries to be an important priority for Moscow.

“It’s really an important priority for us to promote relations with the Gulf countries, both in the area of economy, technology, trade and also, of course, many international issues,” said Lavrov in his opening remarks. He added that the Gulf region is always at the forefront of the current agenda.

Albudaiwi, meanwhile, said that all GCC countries attach great importance to their relations with Moscow, and that they are looking forward to hearing from Lavrov on ways to enhance these ties.

The top Russian diplomat later held talks with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan, although no further details were provided by Moscow on what was discussed during the meeting.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry said on X that both diplomats reviewed bilateral ties and ways to improve joint cooperation, and also discussed the latest developments on the regional and international agenda.

Lavrov arrived in the Saudi capital on Sunday evening, and is scheduled to take part in the seventh ministerial meeting of the Russia-GCC Strategic Dialogue later today.

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