Leonid Slutsky, the chairman of the State Duma’s foreign affairs committee, welcomed the March 10 agreement signed between the governments of Saudi Arabia and Iran, reestablishing diplomatic relations and affirming their commitment to seek peaceful solutions to the problems afflicting the Persian Gulf region and Eurasia more broadly.
Speaking with TASS, Slutsky observed that the normalization of relations between the two nations “corresponds to the spirit of Russia’s Collective Security Concept for the Persian Gulf Region and will contribute to settlement of regional conflicts.” He added that Russia intends to take a number of steps related to that agreement, particularly in the area of economic development.
“In this regard,” Slutsky continued, “I view the International North-South Transport Corridor project, which will become the key factor for positive feedback for security, stability and development in this most important region, as a strategic one…The launch of the Corridor will become a milestone event not only in logistics, but also in politics and in security architecture of the Greater Eurasia. It will become the most important economic superstructure atop the strategic basis, achieved in Beijing.”
