*Joint investments reach new levels
*Putin fully supports Qatar FIFA 2022


The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin praised the relations between his country and Qatar at all economic and political levels, as well as the mutual cooperation in the humanitarian field, saying that they are a reflection of the personal relations between him and His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
This came during a meeting the Russian president held Friday night via videoconferencing with heads and representatives of 16 global news agencies, including Qatar News Agency (QNA) which was represented by QNA's Director-General Yousuf Ibrahim al-Malki.
Putin expressed his complete satisfaction with the level of cooperation between the two countries. He added that thanks to joint efforts with the Amir, the two countries have reached a new level of cooperation in various fields, especially in the field of investment as joint investment funds are witnessing constant growth, affirming both countries' keenness on exploring new investment opportunities.
The Russian president reiterated Russia's support for Qatar in hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, noting that he had discussed the issue of Qatar's hosting of the world tournament with the Amir.
He said that Russia supports the Qatari friends in hosting the championships and is ready to cooperate with Qatar to overcome all difficulties, if any, in order to make the hosting a success.
On the Palestinian issue, Putin underlined that lasting peace in the region cannot be achieved without resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, stressing the importance and sensitivity of the issue for the entire world.
Putin noted the need for multilateral cooperation formats and multilateral discussion formats, adding that there are issues that require special attention from the international community.
He underlined the importance of the Palestinian issue and said that topics related to resolving this issue should not be raised on the sidelines or in the background of international politics.
The Russian president expressed his hope that all major crises will be resolved, foremost of which is the issue of the two-state solution, which is the establishment of a Palestinian and an Israeli state, provided that this solution will have a positive impact on the interests of both the Palestinian and Israeli peoples, stressing that his country will continue to contribute to solving the Palestinian issue.
On his upcoming meeting with US President Joe Biden in Geneva on June 16, Putin said that he does not expect any breakthrough in the relations between the two countries , but indicated that the two countries have "common interests".
He believed that despite the contradictions - which he said were not created by Russia - the two countries still have overlapping interests, including environmental issues, the strategic stability and the joint action aimed at resolving some regional crises, because of their paramount importance as they are related to the security of both countries.
Putin praised his American counterpart, saying that President Biden is a very experienced politician, and hoped that their meeting will be constructive.
On the efforts to combat the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the Russian leader stressed the need to unify the efforts at the global level in combating the pandemic, noting that the world has not yet recovered from the difficulties and restrictions caused by the pandemic, and that effective results can be achieved only through cooperation.
He called for prioritising humanitarian issues and people's health and lives over economic benefits at this stage.

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