Iranian FM speaks to Saudi counterpart

Tehran, Dec 22 (IANS) Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has said that he spoke to his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, one day before, marking the highest-level engagement reported between the two countries since they severed ties in 2016.Amir-Abdollahian wrote on Wednesday on his Twitter account that on the sidelines of the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership held in Jordan on Tuesday, there was an opportunity to have "friendly talks" with some of his counterparts such as Foreign Ministers from Oman, Qatar, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.The Saudi Minister "had told him that his country is ready to continue negotiation with Iran," the Iranian Foreign Minister added.Riyadh has yet to respond to Amir-Abdollahian's remarks, Xinhua news agency reported.Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in early 2016 in response to attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the kingdom executed a Shia cleric.To improve bilateral relations and ease regional tension, Baghdad hosted four rounds of direct talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia in 2021 and a fifth-round in April this year.
--IANS int/khz/

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