Kuwait emirs visit to Russia to give quantum leap to ties

Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Khaled Al-Jarallah said Thursday that the upcoming visit by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to Russia this fall "will give a quantum leap" to the bilateral ties.
"The visit will be highly significant due to issues that are going to be discussed, and the agreements to be signed by both sides," Al-Jarallah told reporters on the sidelines of the celebration of Russian Embassy of Russia's National Day.
"The relations with the Russian Federation at all levels are excellent, outstanding and historical," he said, noting that Kuwait is one of the first countries in the region, which has set up relationships with Russia.
The Undersecretary added that their contacts with friends in Russia are ongoing and continuous, including visits of officials between the two countries, affirming on the existence of a joint coordination with Russia and understanding on many regional and international issues.
Meanwhile, on a different topic, Al-Jarallah stressed on the need to move effective and to secure coordination among countries in the region, including fortifying the home front against terrorist organizations due tensions in the region.
Asked about a map, published recently by the organization of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) which include Kuwaiti territories, Al-Jarallah said: "We had repeatedly warned about the seriousness of the situation in Iraq." Al-Jarallah added ISIL does not target Kuwait only, but the entire region as well, adding that the new map confirms that, "we must be cautious and move well through security coordination including fortifying our internal front in the GCC countries." Regarding the possibility of an Iranian or Turkish military intervention in Iraq to curb ISIL expansion, including Kuwait's position on such matter, Al-Jarallah said "I have neither confirmation nor certain information and therefore we are not part of this intervention and the issue related to brothers in Iraq."