Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the commitment after a “lengthy” meeting in Doha with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, and before that, the country’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, reoprted Hurriyet Daily.
“We are committed to bolstering trade and economic ties,” Lavrov told reporters afterwards.
He added that Moscow “attached great importance” to economic cooperation, including energy, between the two countries, a sentiment echoed by Sheikh Mohammed.
Russia and Qatar are two of the world’s top four gas producing countries.
Both are also major oil producers, and last year Qatar spent billions on taking a stake in Russia’s state-controlled oil company, Rosneft.
Qatar has turned to expanding its economic ties after a group of countries led by Saudi-Arabia and United Arab Emirates cut off political and trade links with Doha on June 5, initiating the Gulf’s worst political crisis in years.
The bloc accuses Qatar of supporting extremism, a charge the emirate denies.
PY/PR
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