Russian foreign minister meets top officials amid visit to Saudi Arabia

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday met with top Saudi officials amid an official visit to the country’s capital Riyadh.

An initial statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Lavrov held talks with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, during which he 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,” Lavrov said during his opening remarks.

Lavrov further said the Gulf region is always at the forefront of the current agenda.

For his part, Albudaiwi expressed 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, though no further details have been provided by Moscow on what was discussed during the meeting.

Meanwhile, 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 late Sunday, and is scheduled to take part in the 7th ministerial meeting of the Russia-GCC Strategic Dialogue later Monday.