MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, King Salman of Saudi Arabia had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which he condemned the attack in the St. Petersburg metro, with both sides stressing the importance of invigorating efforts to fight terrorism.
"We consider all these avenues of cooperation important, and the fight against terrorism is a priority. In that regard, practical steps are being taken to enhance the cooperation and to reach success in this work," the ambassador said.
Rassi noted that sharing the experience in that field was important and Saudi Arabia could offer various methods.
"[Saudi Arabia] is a leader in terms of experience in this field, it has fought against this problem with all methods. Not only through eliminating terrorists and their armed groups, but also through correcting their ideology and their beliefs," Rassi said.
Russia and Saudi Arabia are working out only the legal and organizational details of bilateral cooperation in the nuclear sphere, while the technical issues will require more time, Abdulrahman Rassi told Sputnik.
In 2015, Moscow and Riyadh signed an agreement on cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear technology. The accord envisages cooperation in the construction of nuclear reactors and training staff for their operation.
"This is a framework deal, and the activities of legal and organizational nature are carried out. Many technical aspects need to be thoroughly examined and require a lot of time," Rassi said speaking about the 2015 accord.
He added that the consultations in the nuclear sphere were also held within the framework of the joint committee and Riyadh was still interested in the cooperation.
"The kingdom is interested in using experience and capabilities of the leading countries in this sphere, including those of Russia," the ambassador added.
In 2016, Russia's Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation put Saudi Arabia on a list of countries where the Russian company could participate in potential nuclear power projects by 2030.
An explosion in the St. Petersburg metro on Monday killed at least 14 people and injured over 50 others. Following the explosion, Russia's Investigative Committee opened a criminal investigation into the suspected terrorist attack.
