In Moscow, Saudi deputy crown prince strengthens ties with Russia

[email protected] (Arab News)
May 31, 2017

Moscow, May 31: Russia and Saudi Arabia hailed their growing partnership in oil markets and dialogue on Syria on Tuesday.

Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with President Vladimir Putin one week after the US President Donald Trump's historic visit to Riyadh.Moscow

Putin praised the deputy crown prince, who looks after the Kingdom's defense and energy, as he welcomed him to the Kremlin. It was the second meeting between the two men over the past year.

The deputy crown prince's visit to Russia followed some anxiety in political and diplomatic circles in Moscow since US-Russian ties continue to be strained.

Washington's movements in the strategically important Middle East made Russia keep a close eye on what happened in Riyadh.

“Relations between Saudi Arabia and Russia are seeing one of their best stages at the moment,” the deputy crown prince said.

“The two countries have a lot of points of mutual understanding. As for the points on which we have differences, a clear mechanism exists to overcome them and we are progressing at a quick pace in this respect,” he said.

The deputy crown prince believes his visit to Moscow would help strengthen bilateral relations. “The main thing is that we manage to build a strong foundation as concerns the oil market and prices of energy resources. This offers opportunities for building a strategic future further,” he said.

Russia is seeking to extend its presence in the region. Despite its close ties with Iran, Moscow is interested in building bridges with the Arab Gulf states. The deputy crown prince's visit to Moscow balances the Riyadh Summit, demonstrating that the Kingdom is ready to maintain open dialogue with all countries that are eager to do so.

The prince and Putin discussed stabilizing the world oil market and Syria. Putin's and the deputy crown prince's estimations of bilateral ties are similar.

There are 25 mutually beneficial investment projects totaling $10 billion that are under examination.

Nickolay Soukhov, senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies at Russia's Academy of Sciences, said the visit will have a positive impact on bilateral ties.

“The fact that the Saudi deputy crown prince arrived in Moscow one week after the historic summit in Riyadh demonstrates that the Kingdom is eager to keep balance in its foreign policy and to diversify its ties,” Soukhov said.

Anton Mardasov, expert at the Russian Council on Foreign Relations and head of the Middle East conflicts department at the Institute of Innovative Development, said: “Moscow is interested in building partnerships with the Gulf monarchies, and with Saudi Arabia in particular.

It was noticeable even in contacts within the framework of OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries). Cooperation between the two countries is also needed on Syria. It's likely that Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has come to Russia partly to figure out how serious Moscow is about maintaining safe zones in Syria.”

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News Network
April 10,2020

Dubai, Apr 10: Saudi Arabia reported 364 new coronavirus cases and three new virus-related deaths, the Ministry of Health announced on Friday.

The total number of confirmed cases in the Kingdom is 3,651, out of which 2,919 are currently active, the ministry added.

Out of the new cases, 90 were recorded in Mecca, 78 in Medina, 69 in Riyadh, and 54 in Jeddah, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the number of fatalities rose to 47, while th number of recoveries reached 685.

The daily number of confirmed cases in Saudi Arabia has not peaked yet, and has been rapidly accelerating.

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Health had said earlier this week that four different studies showed that the number of coronavirus cases in the Kingdom could reach between 10,000 to 200,000 within weeks.

The ministry spokesman emphasized the urgent need for citizens and residents to remain at home and maintain social distancing practices to ensure that the virus does not spread further.

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News Network
April 29,2020

Dubai, Apr 29: Saudi Arabia reported 1,325 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 21,402, the Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday (April 28).

Meanwhile, the ministry reported 169 recoveries today, with total recoveries in the kingdom at 2,953. There are 125 cases in intensive care.

The ministry also confirmed 5 deaths, bringing the total number of deaths in the kingdom to 157.

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News Network
April 28,2020

Dubai, Apr 28: Riyadh municipality has announced 13 requirements to restore commercial activity in malls starting Wednesday (April 29), in accordance with the government’s coronavirus precautionary measures.

The requirements include: the continued closure of all entertainment and playing areas inside malls, and not allowing the entry of children under the age of 15.

The municipality requires all malls to ensure the availability of medical examination and sterilization teams to measure the temperature of all individuals entering the mall at all entrances throughout opening hours, prevent any person with a temperature exceeding 38 degrees Celsius from entering, remove all chairs and benches in the corridors, and provide masks and gloves for visitors at the entrances.

All malls are to have security personnel stationed at all entrances to ensure that visitors are wearing masks.

The municipality also requires all malls to sterilize the entire facility every 24 hours, allocate rooms for medical isolation when there is any suspicion of an individual being infected with COVID-19, ensure the presence of a sufficient number of security personnel, and carry out regular rounds to verify full compliance, and suspend the valet service.

It also called for malls to put up explanatory signs of the guidelines to ensure that everyone understands the precautionary measures.

Malls should rely on the use of escalators and stairs for movement between floors, and in the event they are not available, only two people are allowed to ride the elevator at a time.

Revised curfew

Saudi Arabia had revised on April 21 its coronavirus curfew timings for the holy month of Ramadan, allowing residents in all areas and cities not currently under a 24-horu lockdown to go out between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

However, areas under a complete lockdown will only be allowed to go out for essential needs, such as grocery shopping or medical visits, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Residents in these areas must stay within their neighborhoods

A 24-hour lockdown was previously imposed on the cities of Riyadh, Tabuk, Dammam, Dhahran, and Hofuf and throughout the governorates of Jeddah, Taif, Qatif, and Khobar.

The government had imposed a full lockdown on the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah as well. Other cities and governorates had a curfew implemented from 3 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily.

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