November 24, 2007	Saturday	Ziqa’ad 13, 1428

MOSCOW, Nov 23: Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz held talks here on Friday with President Vladimir Putin expected to pave the way for the first purchase of Russian weapons by the kingdom.

Speaking as he greeted the crown prince at the Kremlin, Putin said the discussions would address a range of international issues, “above all the situation in the region,” news agencies reported, without elaborating.

Sultan responded by calling Russia a “friend” of Saudi Arabia and saying that relations between the two countries were based on trust and had prospects for further development.

Neither side made any public statement following the Kremlin talks.

The plan for the crown prince to meet Putin was made public only at the last minute. The Interfax news agency noted that the meeting took place in a Kremlin hall usually reserved for receptions of heads of state.

Prior to meeting Putin, the prince, who is also defence minister, held talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and gave a nod of approval to Kremlin policy.

“We are satisfied with Russian policy and we hope that it will continue,” the prince said.

Putin visited Saudi Arabia last February and Saudi officials said afterwards that the desert kingdom was in negotiations with Moscow on the purchase of Russian weapons systems.

Lavrov described Sultan’s meeting with Putin as the “main point” of his visit to Moscow, which he said would focus on implementing agreements that were penned when Putin went to Riyadh.

Asked if he and Sultan had discussed plans for an upcoming Middle East peace conference in the US city of Annapolis, Lavrov responded “yes,” but gave no details.

“Both sides are satisfied,” Lavrov said, adding that Russia-Saudi ties had entered a phase of “intense development.” In an interview with the state-run ITAR-TASS news agency, Sultan said both Saudi Arabia and Russia had roles to play in stabilising the situation in Iraq.

“We see violence, murders and destruction in Iraqi land, which contradicts common sense and logic,” the prince was quoted by the agency as saying.

Russia and Saudi Arabia “should work together at regional and international levels for security and peace in Iraq.” Officials in Moscow declined to provide further information on the agenda for Sultan’s talks with Putin.

But a Russian diplomat in Riyadh, speaking earlier this week, said he expected the Moscow talks to produce a “framework agreement for military cooperation” that would open the way for Saudi Arabia to buy Russian arms.

Speaking earlier this year after Putin’s visit to Riyadh, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said that the desert kingdom was in talks with Russia over the possible purchase of Russian weapons.

“On the armament front, there have been discussions between the two countries.

“They are taking place in accordance with the kingdom’s requirements in terms of armament and with what Russia can provide of the kingdom’s needs for such equipment,” he said.

Saud did not give details, but a diplomatic source in Riyadh had earlier said that Putin’s visit to Riyadh was expected to lead to a “verbal understanding” on the sale of about 150 Russian T-90 battle tanks to the kingdom.

The source said tests were carried out on the T-90 in Saudi Arabia last year to determine the tank’s suitability for harsh desert conditions, and Russia is also looking to sell Mi-17 helicopters.

Saudi Arabia has traditionally purchased US and other Western military equipment but has signalled that it is looking at other suppliers to diversify its arsenal.—AFP