Bahrain's King arrives in Russia for 2-day official visit

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa arrived in Russia on Wednesday for an official two-day visit, landing at one of Moscow's airports, where a welcome ceremony was live-streamed on Russian TV.

During his official visit, Al Khalifa will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, the Kremlin press service said in a statement.

"The leaders will discuss the current state and outlook for Russia-Bahrain cooperation in trade, the economy, energy and culture, as well as current international issues, including developments in the Middle East in light of Bahrain's chairmanship of the Council of the Arab League," it said.

The two sides will sign several documents following their meeting, it noted.

The king arrived in Russia for the first time in eight years, having last visited in 2016. However, he spoke with Putin on the phone in March of this year, congratulating him on his re-election for a new term and announcing his willingness to deepen cooperation between the two countries.

In 2022, the monarch declared his readiness to mediate negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.