Contents tagged with Saudi Arabia

  • Russian deputies and Saudi king do not agree on the future of Assad

    A delegation of the Federal Council of the Russian Federation, which was received in Riyadh by King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, held talks with him about the situation in Syria; the parties remained on opposite sides regarding the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

    This was stated by Deputy Chairman of the Chamber Ilyas Umakhanov, who was a member of the Russian delegation, reported Interfax news agency.

    According to Umakhanov, the King and the Russian delegation, …

  • Ukraine's new Antonov An-132 made its inaugural flight

    The new Ukrainian An-132 transport aircraft took off for the first time on Friday, March 31, reported a correspondent of LB.ua from the Kyiv Svyatoshin airfield.

    Later Antonov’s press service reported that the flight lasted 1 hour and 50 minutes. It was performed by a crew of Ukrainian pilots, Viktor Goncharov and Bohdan Zagorulko and engineer Volodymyr Nesterenko. Mohammed Ayash from the Arabian Taqnia Aeronautics was also among the crew.

    The An-132D aircraft was developed for Saudi Arabia. …

  • Saudi Arabia will not attend meeting with Russia and other non-OPEC countries on Monday

    Saudi Arabia will not take part in a meeting with non-OPEC countries which will be held on Monday, The Financial Times (FT) reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.

    Saudi Arabia, according to the newspaper’s source, believes that there is "no point in being present there [at the meeting] when members of the organization had not reached an agreement with each other yet" and generally even questions the need for such a meeting.

    "As OPEC has not reached an agreement yet, there is no …

  • Russia and Saudi Arabia to work together to counter low oil prices

    The Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia intend to work together to counter a prolonged fall in oil prices. A joint working group will deal with the development of and agreement on a plan in that area, DPA (Germany Press Agency) reports.

    Its establishment is envisaged in the bilateral agreement signed on September 5 at the G20 summit.

    Relevant statements were made by the Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, Alexander Novak, and the Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of …

  • Saudi exports of oil to Poland alarm Russian oil companies

    The Polish company Orlen has entered into a contract to receive oil from Saudi Arabia, provoking anxiety among Russian oil companies, as reported by Radio Poland. It is the first contract of its kind in Eastern Europe and may be followed by more. This can call into question the positions of traditional suppliers from Russia, headed by Rosneft.

    The head of Rosneft, Igor Sechin, has been afraid of this scenario since October of last year, the edition notes. He warned that the reduction of prices …

  • Lebanese Newspaper: Russian GRU spy chief died as a result of a 'secret mission' in Beirut

    The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, citing its own sources, stated that Russian Intelligence Director Igor Sergun, who passed away two months ago, died in Beirut while conducting a secret mission. According to the news paper, Saudi Arabian and other Middle Eastern secret service groups may have been involved in the death of Colonel-General Sergun, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, better known as the GRU.

    Orientalexpress.info noted that the …

  • Saudi Arabia accuses Russia and Syria of violating ceasefire

    The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adel Al-Jubeir, has accused Moscow and Damascus of carrying out airstrikes which violate the conditions of the truce in Syria. According to Reuters, the diplomat stated that the Saudi authorities are currently discussing this issue with other countries.

    Adel Al-Jubeir also reported that if the Syrian authorities and their allies aren’t serious about observing the truce, plan B will be activated. Meanwhile, the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs didn’t give …

  • Saudi Arabia: Russia’s support for Syrian government will have serious consequences

    The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adel al-Jubeir, warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that Moscow’s support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would have serious consequences, as reported by Deutsche Welle. “We informed the Russians that by taking the side of the Syrian President and Iraq, they will become participants of religious war. It is very, very dangerous,” the Head of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in an interview with a correspondant from Süddeutsche Zeitung. …

  • Medvedev Warns of a 'Permanent War'

    The Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, warned against any ground operations in Syria because, according to him, it could lead to the beginning of a new global war. The head of the Russian Government made this statement in his interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt on the eve of the Munich Security Conference.

    “As a rule, all ground operations lead to permanent warfare. Look what is going on in Afghanistan and a number of other countries. I didn’t even mention poor Libya,” …

  • Russia and Saudi Arabia Reach $10 Billion Arms Deal

    According to sources in the top management in defense enterprises, Russia is preparing to sell arms to Saudi Arabia; the demand is due to the current conflicts in the Middle East.

    Saudi Arabia has long relied on purchases of arms from NATO countries and the US.  Now it has expressed interest in Russian missile boats, patrol ships near the sea area, medium landing ships and patrol ships.  There are other serious developments as well, sources say.

    The Saudis are allegedly negotiating the …