Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah discussed in a phone call on Friday, with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, bilateral relations and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
During the call, the two ministers also exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues and developments of common concern.
The Saudi Foreign Minister also reaffirmed that his country will continue to use its good offices to work for a political solution to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.
Earlier in March, Saudi Arabia expressed its willingness to facilitate dialogue between Russia and Ukraine.
“The Kingdom is ready to mediate to resolve the crisis in Ukraine,” Prince Faisal said during a press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov during his visit to Moscow.
Prior to that, the Saudi foreign minister and Lavrov discussed international developments, including the war in Ukraine, bilateral ties, and the stability of oil markets.
In the recent past, as Saudi Arabia’s longstanding relationship with the US has become less certain, the oil-rich kingdom has made an effort to build ties with China and Russia. Since the initiation of the OPEC Plus oil production agreement in 2016 and the visit by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to Moscow in October 2017, the relationship between the Kremlin and Saudi Arabia, as well as other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), has continued to grow stronger.
In March last year, when oil prices rose to approximately $130 per barrel, leaders of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries refused to comply with requests from leaders of the United States and the European Union to increase oil production. The purpose of the request was to ease the strain on the global economy and mitigate inflation. But by October 2022, the OPEC Plus which includes both Saudi Arabia and Russia decided to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day which helped maintain higher oil prices.