President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Your Highness, colleagues, I am very glad to see you again.
We attach great importance to expanding multifaceted and mutually beneficial cooperation with Saudi Arabia. This also applies to our bilateral relations, keeping in mind that we are the largest oil-producing countries, and to international issues. We believe that without Saudi Arabia no serious issue in the region can be resolved, and it is important for us to maintain a regular dialogue with you.
The meeting with His Majesty King Salman at the last G20 summit in Antalya was very important. Please give him my best wishes.
You and I have also discussed opportunities for cooperation in other areas, including military technical cooperation, and cultural and humanitarian exchanges, in the broadest sense of the word.
I am glad to have the chance to talk to you on the sidelines of the G20 meeting here in China.
Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud (retranslated): Thank you very much for your kind words.
For us, the relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia are also of great importance. They are certainly strategic in nature and, therefore, cooperation and coordination between Russia and Saudi Arabia are essential.
Indeed, as you said, our countries are the two largest players in oil production, so no stable oil policy can be pursued without the involvement of Russia and Saudi Arabia. And so I believe that, with the help of our continued cooperation, we can gain many benefits with regard to further developments on the oil market.
We also believe that Russia is not only an important world player, but also a great power. So today, when all eyes are riveted to the Middle East – and we are in the heart of the Middle East – we hope for stability and security. And I think that you, our friends, think about it, too.
We also hope that our work in the Middle East will contribute to stability and security throughout the world, as the Middle East is truly an artery, the largest hub of world trade, of global life.
And so, being at the centre of the Islamic world, the Arab world, the Gulf region, we should play a major role and bear an important responsibility.
As for our cooperation with Russia, it proceeds on a privileged basis. That is why our work together brings a lot of benefits to the Middle East.
We would certainly prefer to avoid any negative scenario in the Middle East, and so would you. We would like to ramp up economic cooperation and want it to not just continue, but to progress faster.
Please accept the best wishes from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, as he is also very interested in the development of relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Thank you very much, Mr President.
<…>