MOSCOW: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who is also special envoy of the Russian president to the Middle East and Africa, has praised the level of mutual trust between Russia and the Kingdom, as well as the depth and strength of the relationship between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On the sidelines of the 86th National Day celebrations at the Saudi Embassy in Russia, the Saudi Press Agency quoted him as saying: “Russia was the first foreign nation to recognize the Kingdom and the two sides have been working over the years to develop ties between the friendly peoples, and build relationships based on mutual respect, respect of sovereignty, and independence of decisions in Riyadh and Moscow.”

Bogdanov also pointed to promising prospects for expanding mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation in the political, trade and investment fields. He highly appreciated the Kingdom’s services offered to Russian pilgrims during Haj.

He stressed the importance of communication between the leadership of the two countries, alluding to the recent meeting between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York, as well as the meeting between Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Putin during the G-20 summit in China.