OUR Chinese chairman Xi Jinping welcomed today the recent thaw in relations between them Iran And her Saudi Arabia Arabiathrough the mediation of Beijing, during a telephone conversation with the crown prince Mohammed V Salman.

Seven years later Riyadh and Tehran announced in early March the restoration of diplomatic relations after talks in China.

The agreement between the two rivals, seen as Beijing’s diplomatic victory in the Middle East, sees the two countries reopen their embassies within two months.

C statements

Resumption of dialogue between Iran and Saudi Arabia Arabia in China has achieved an “important result,” Xi said in a speech to V Salman.

“Recently, progress in the diplomatic de-escalation of tensions between the countries of the region has significantly strengthened,” he added.

“This clearly demonstrates that the resolution of conflicts and disputes through dialogue (…) is in the interests of all countries,” noted Mohammed V Salmanits de facto leader Saudi Arabia Arabia.

“China is ready to support the process of continuing the dialogue” between the two countries, he added.

For his part, the Saudi prince “expressed the kingdom’s gratitude for the Chinese initiative aimed at supporting efforts to develop good neighborly relations” with Iran.

Impact on the Middle East

The restoration of diplomatic relations between the two rival countries could have a wider impact on the Middle East, where Iran and Saudi Arabia Arabia politically and militarily supports various parties in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Last week Riyadh announced the start of negotiations with Damascus to resume the consular services of the two countries more than ten years after they were suspended.

Moreover, in a telephone conversation between C and V Salman they stressed the importance of its strategic relationship Saudi Arabia Arabia, the largest oil exporter country worldwide, with China a key trading partner of the Gulf states.

Earlier this week, the Saudi oil company Saudi Aramco boosted its already multi-billion dollar investment in China with two deals, the biggest announced since Xi visited the kingdom in December for the Gulf leaders’ summit.

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP, Reuters.}