Putin, Saudi crown prince discuss efforts to resolve Middle East crises

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - In a Friday phone call, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud discussed efforts to resolve crises in the Middle East.

The phone call came just days after Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al Saud visited Syria for the first time in more than a decade.

Putin and Crown Prince Mohammed also spoke about bilateral cooperation and efforts to expand trade and economic ties, a Kremlin statement said.

"Satisfaction was expressed with the level of coordination within OPEC Plus in order to ensure the stability of the world oil market," it said.

They also discussed the prospects of cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – the statement added.

"Vladimir Putin congratulated the leadership and people of the Kingdom on the Eid al-Adha holiday, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims," it said.