Adel bin Ahmad Al-Jubeir, Minister of Foreign Affairs, welcomed Foreign Minister of Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov who is currently visiting the Kingdom, pointing out that the meeting between the two sides comes in the interest of the bilateral relations. He added that the meeting dealt with all fields in addition to economic and commercial issues between the two countries as well as supporting the peace process.
During a joint press conference held with his Russian counterpart in Jeddah, Al-Jubeir disclosed that the two sides discussed the situation in Syria and importance of reaching a political solution in accordance with the declaration of "Geneva 1" and the Security Council's resolution no. 2254, stressing the Kingdom's support for establishment of the escalation zones and its aspiration to start political processes in Syria to get it out of the crisis, preserve its territorial integrity, guarantee the rights of all Syrian communities and seek to find political solutions based on the Geneva resolution which would lead to formation of a transitional authority. He added that the two countries discussed the two countries' support for efforts of Al-Abadi government in combating terrorism and keenness on Iraq's unity.
Al-Jubeir lauded the Russian stance and communicating with the legitimate government in Yemen to solve the crisis based on the Security Council's resolution no. 2216 in addition to welcoming outputs of the national dialogue in Libya and recent steps to gather the Libyan parties as well as supporting efforts of the UN envoy in this regard.
Al-Jubeir stressed that the two countries determine to address terrorism and extremism and focus on respecting the international laws and non-interference in others' affairs, looking forward to fruitful cooperation between the two friendly countries.
In a reply to a question about the Kingdom's stance towards Qatar's crisis, Adel Al-Jubeir, stressed that the Kingdom's stances is clear and announced it repeatedly. "Qatar knows what is required. We want a clarity with regard the Qatari position. We want a seriousness in finding a solution of this crisis leading to implementation of the principles supported by all countries of the world, non-support of terrorism, non-financing of terrorism, non-hosting of wanted persons, non-dissemination of hatred and extremism and non-interference in the affairs of other countries that were among 13 demands submitted to the Qatari side through the State of Kuwait. In this regard, we have taken measures and will continue our stance until Qatar responds to the will of the international community to stop supporting and financing terrorism and extremism," he said.
Al-Jubeir said that Qatar did not abide by the Riyadh agreement in 2013/2014 by ceasing its policy of supporting extremism and interfering in the affairs of other countries and supporting terrorism. Qatar did not abide by the agreement signed in Riyadh. Therefore, the Kingdom, with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, was forced to take action against Qatar, to make Qatar abandoning its policy in supporting terrorism and extremism and hosting the wanted and spreading the speech of hatred, incitement and interference in the affairs of the countries of the region.
"If Qatar has a serious desire, it must respond to these demands in order to open a new page with Qatar. With regard to mechanisms for implementation and follow-up, Qatar must realize that these policies are unacceptable, not only from countries in the region but from all over the world. I do not think that there is a state that backs support or financing of terrorism or incitement to extremism or interference in the affairs of other countries. Now, we hope that the wisdom of the State of Qatar will be prevailed and Qatar responds to the demands of the four countries," Al-Jubeir added.
He stressed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on the international principles that guarantee the sovereignty of Syria in accordance with international law and non-interference in the internal affairs of Syria. With regard to the challenges facing the region, he pointed out that the two countries' stances are very identical.
During the press conference, the Russian Foreign Minister highlighted his meeting with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, expressing his satisfaction with the cooperation between Russia and the Kingdom and the joint action. He pointed out that Astana meetings are effective on the ground among Russia, Turkey and Iran. "We cooperate to achieve the goals that have been discussed," he said.
The Russian Foreign Minister also stressed importance of new agreements on the structure of the fourth region in Idlib province.