Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is holding a press conference with his Qatari counterpart Mohammed Al Thani after talks in Doha.
“The Russian president was invited by… the emir of Qatar to visit your state, he accepted the invitation, as well as invitations to a number of neighbouring countries. The protocol services of the heads of state will determine when the visit will take place”, Lavrov said at a press conference following talks with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed Al-Thani.
The minister continued on by inviting Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani to visit Russia.
“Once again, I thank our Qatari friends for their hospitality. And I invite my counterpart to pay a visit to the Russian Federation at a time convenient for him”, Lavrov stated.
Possible S-400 System Purchases by Doha
Qatar and Russia are negotiating the possibility of S-400 air defence missile system purchases by Doha, a technical committee is studying the need to buy the system, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed Al-Thani said at a press conference.
“So far, there is no mutual understanding on the purchase of S-400 by Qatar with the Russian side, the technical committee created by Qatar is studying its characteristics and how this system meets Qatar’s requirements”, Al-Thani said.
Lavrov is currently on a tour across the Persian Gulf states, during which he will visit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The foreign minister is expected to focus on the situation in Syria and other regional hot spots, as well as on the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, during his meetings.