A Saudi Russian joint communiqué was issued today at the end of the official visit of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, to the Federal Republic of Russia. Following is the text of the communiqué: "At an invitation of President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, paid an official visit to the Federal Republic of Russia from November 21-23 November 2007. During the visit, Crown Prince Sultan held meetings with President Putin and other senior government officials. The two sides expressed satisfaction over the tangible and good developments achieved at all levels of bilateral relations and expressed agreement and rapprochement of view points on a number of bilateral, regional and international issues and also expressed sure wish to enhance the high-level political dialogue between them. They underscored the importance of enhancing Saudi Russian joint efforts in support of the peace process, and of achieving stability in the Middle East Region, considering that the fair and comprehensive solution to the Arab Israeli conflict which is based on the relevant international legitimacy resolutions constitute a strong base for stability in the region, a matter that contributes to supporting international peace and security. In this regard, the two sides, confirmed their support for the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state and underscored the importance of the Arab Peace Initiative as approved by the Arab summit in Beirut 2002 and endorsed by Riyadh Arab summit in March 2007. They called on the world community to provide the means and facilities for providing more assistance for the Palestinian people. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expressed deep appreciation of the efforts exerted by the Federal Republic of Russia in support of the peace process in the Middle East. As regards a proposal to hold the planned peace conference in Annapolis, the two parties expressed hope that the conference would deal with the basic issues of the Arab-Israeli conflict aiming at reaching a just and comprehensive solution to the conflict at all tracks and according to a foreseeable timetable. --More
