MOSCOW, 5 September 2003 — Russia and Saudi Arabia called for a stronger UN role in Iraq yesterday in a joint statement issued at the close of a three-day visit by Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard.

Moscow and Riyadh favor “a stronger role for the United Nations in a settlement of the Iraqi problem,” President Vladimir Putin and Prince Abdullah said in the statement.

The two capitals believe in the need of the “substantive participation” of the international community “in resolving such problems as expanding humanitarian aid and rehabilitating the national economy and the social sphere,” the statement said.

Prince Abdullah and Putin reaffirmed their attachment to the preservation of Iraq’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and said they hoped the creation of an interim Iraqi administration last Monday would pave the way to the creation of a legitimate government.

On the Middle East conflict, the two leaders pledged to “cooperate closely” in efforts to achieve a “fair and solid peace” to be based on UN resolutions and the “land for peace” principle and on the current internationally-backed road map to peace.

They jointly declared their “determination to step up the fight against terrorism ... in line with the UN Charter and international law.”

Prince Abdullah also called upon the world community to pressure Israel into adhering to the road map peace plan. “Israel must be made to stop stalling on fulfillment of its obligations under the road map and all related documents, including the Arab peace initiative adopted at the Arab summit in Beirut,” the prince told the Interfax news agency.

Abdullah said Israel was deliberately undermining the peace plan of the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union through a “continued policy of violence and attacks and unilateral actions like the blockading of Palestinian regions.”

Meanwhile, after the signing Tuesday of a framework five-year agreement on oil cooperation, Abdullah and Putin agreed on “the need to interact in oil policy to achieve stability and predictability” in the global market, keeping prices within “an acceptable corridor.”

This would be achieved both on a bilateral basis and in a multilateral format working with other oil-producing countries, they said.

Putin has accepted an invitation from King Fahd, transmitted by the crown prince, to make a state visit to Saudi Arabia at a date to be arranged, the statement said.

Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi noted on Wednesday that the current state of the oil market served as proof of the two countries’ success at keeping it stable.

His Russian counterpart Igor Yusufov agreed. “We feel ourselves responsible for the world market’s stability. So the signing of our cooperation accord was quite timely,” he said.

The five-year oil and natural gas cooperation accord could lead to deals worth up to $25 billion, he noted.

The business daily Kommersant said that Saudi investment in Russia resulting from an improvement in relations “could lead to a huge leap forward for Moscow” in the energy sector.

Moscow is angling for a share in the development of Saudi Arabia’s huge reserves and also seeking investment in its own oil and gas industry.

Officials in Moscow were at pains to ensure the pact was not seen in Washington as a deal by Russia and Saudi Arabia aimed at securing control over the international oil and gas market.

The visit also signals a marked improvement in Saudi-Russia relations after several decades of coolness.

Moscow only reopened its embassy in Riyadh in 1991, and even in 2002 trade between the two countries was still worth less than $67 million.

The global fight against terrorism topped the agenda at the meeting of the two foreign ministers, Igor Ivanov and Saud Al-Faisal, on Wednesday, where they pledged to work closely to overcome the threat.

They announced the creation of a working group “to prepare effective measures to eliminate this dangerous evil.”

The Chechen issue was not mentioned in public, but the Izvestia daily said that Saudi leaders had promised to take action against the charities accused of funding the separatists.

The two countries were able to present broadly similar views on Iraq, where both opposed the US-led intervention last March, and on the Middle East.

They voiced the hope that the interim Iraqi administration announced last Monday would “become a legitimate government” and defended the road map against Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s reported charge that it was dead.

Russian officials have stressed the importance of the Saudi visit as a key step in Moscow’s wide-ranging approach to better relations with the Muslim world, highlighted last month when President Vladimir Putin said Russia planned to join the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Riyadh will back Moscow’s application to become an affiliate member, a Russian diplomat told Interfax yesterday, citing the “understanding” expressed by Saudi officials.