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FM Prince Faisal said that the fourth round of negotiations between the two main Middle Eastern competitors was held on September 21.
Saudi Arabia held discussions with regional rival Tehran last month because negotiations to ease tensions continued under the leadership of Iran’s conservative President Ebrahim Raisi.
The Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Falhan Al Saud stated on Sunday that “the fourth round of talks will be held on September 21.”
“These discussions are still in the exploratory stage, and we hope they will lay the foundation for resolving the problems between the two sides,” he said at a joint press conference held in Riyadh and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borel.
Prince Faisal did not disclose the location of the meeting or the level of delegates, while Borel welcomed the talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Iran and Saudi Arabia are on opposite sides in many conflicts in the Middle East and have been conducting the highest level of talks since the severance of relations in 2016 since April.
The discussion was initiated under the leadership of former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who was replaced by Raisi in August. The first three rounds of talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran were held in Iraq.
Tehran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on September 23 that negotiations had made “significant progress” in Gulf security.
opposite
For many years, Saudi Arabia and Iran have supported the opposing parties in regional conflicts and political disputes in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. Since 2015, Riyadh has been leading the Houthi movement in Yemen, which is allied with Iran, to wage war.
Riyadh and Tehran expressed their hope that the talks will ease tensions and at the same time dilute expectations for major diplomatic breakthroughs.
Borel said that during his visit to Riyadh, he talked about the situation in Yemen, where he will also meet with Yemeni President Abdul Rab Mansour Hadi.
“What happened in Yemen was a terrible tragedy for the people there, and it also had an impact on the entire region,” Borrell said.
Soon after the Houthi rebels occupied the capital Sana’a, Saudi Arabia intervened in the Yemen war on behalf of an internationally recognized government in 2015.
The militants have repeatedly targeted cross-border attacks.
The fierce conflict in Yemen has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions of people, leading to what the United Nations calls the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world.
While the United Nations is pushing for an end to the war, the Houthis are demanding the reopening of Sana’a Airport, which has been closed under the Saudi blockade since 2016, before any ceasefire or negotiations.
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