Putin calls Saudi king to discuss Syria conflict

AFP, MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Saudi Arabia’s King Salman about finding a solution to the Syria crisis on Saturday, just two days before he is due to address the UN on the issue, the Kremlin said.
In a telephone conversation at Russia’s behest, the two men “exchanged views on regional security matters, first and foremost, in the context of finding ways to settle the conflict in Syria”, a statement posted to the Kremlin’s website said.
They also discussed “building more effective international cooperation in the fight against the so-called Islamic State and other terrorist groups”, it said.
A decades-long backer of the Damascus regime, Moscow has steadfastly supported President Bashar al-Assad throughout four-and-a-half years of war which have killed more than 240,000 people.
Saudi Arabia is part of a US-led coalition that began an air campaign against IS in Syria last September, and insists it will never cooperate with the Assad regime.
On Monday, Putin will address the General Assembly in New York to outline his plan for Syria, notably the idea of expanding a coalition, which would include Assad’s army, to fight Islamic State.
He will also meet US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the gathering, their first formal talk in two years.
Russia has lately boosted its military presence in Syria, deploying more troops and warplanes to an air base along with new arms deliveries to Assad’s forces. Last week, the Syrian army used Russian drones against the jihadists for the first time.
On Saturday, a Syrian military source told AFP that at least 15 Russian cargo planes transporting “equipment and personnel” had landed at the Hmeimim military base in western Syria in the past two weeks.

 

Putin calls Saudi king to discuss Syria conflict

AFP, MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Saudi Arabias King Salman about finding a solution to the Syria crisis on Saturday, just two days before he is due to address the UN on the issue, the Kremlin said. In a telephone conversation at Russias behest, the two men exchanged views on regional security matters, first and foremost, in the context of finding ways to settle the conflict in Syria, a statement posted to the Kremlins website said. They also discussed building more effective international cooperation in the fight against the so-called Islamic State and other terrorist groups, it said. A decades-long backer of the Damascus regime, Moscow has steadfastly supported President Bashar al-Assad throughout four-and-a-half years of war which have killed more than 240,000 people. Saudi Arabia is part of a US-led coalition that began an air campaign against IS in Syria last September, and insists it will never cooperate with the Assad regime. On Monday, Putin will address the General Assembly in New York to outline his plan for Syria, notably the idea of expanding a coalition, which would include Assads army, to fight Islamic State. He will also meet US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the gathering, their first formal talk in two years. Russia has lately boosted its military presence in Syria, deploying more troops and warplanes to an air base along with new arms deliveries to Assads forces. Last week, the Syrian army used Russian drones against the jihadists for the first time. On Saturday, a Syrian military source told AFP that at least 15 Russian cargo planes transporting equipment and personnel had landed at the Hmeimim military base in western Syria in the past two weeks.