MOSCOW. April 16 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is hoping that since the main forces of the ISIL [terrorist organization outlawed in Russia] have been defeated in Syria and in Iraq, Russia and the Arab League can together help intensify the processes of political settlement and post-conflict rehabilitation and facilitate solving of pressing humanitarian issues in those countries.
This is a statement Putin made in his greeting telegram to the heads of state and the heads of government of the League of Arab States (LAS). The telegram's text was published on the Kremlin website.
The Arab league summit opens in Riyadh on Sunday.
"Your meeting is being held amid a very difficult situation in the region of Middle East and North Africa. Armed conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen continue to claim human lives and are accompanied by a worsening socio-economic situation," Putin said.
"These challenges require coordinated collective efforts from the international community and certainly heighten the reliance on such multilateral entities as the League of Arab States," he said.
"Russia is ready to develop interaction with the League of Arab States in every way possible with a view to ensuring regional security," Putin said.
At the same time, "the fight against terror groups must steadily continue with due respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Arab states," Putin said.
"We believe that long-term normalization in the Middle East is not possible without a fundamental solution to the Palestinian problem. The Russian position remains invariable: all issues concerning the status of Palestinian territories, including the Jerusalem issue, must be settled in direct Palestinian-Israeli talks on the general recognized basis of international law, including relevant UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions and the LAS-approved Arab Peace Initiative," the telegram stated.
"Further increase of the Russia-LAS partnership is in our joint interests and part of a broader effort to strengthen peace and stability on the planet," Putin said.
The president wished the LAS a successful summit and all the best.