His Majesty King Abdullah II returned home on Wednesday following a two-day working visit to the Russian Federation.



Prior to his departure from Moscow, the King opened talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on political, economic and trade ties between Jordan and Russia, in addition to the Middle East peace process and the situation in Iraq.



During a meeting at the Kremlin attended by His Majesty's Advisor for Security Issues, Director of the Intelligence Department and Rapporteur of the State Security Council, General Saed Kheir, President Putin's advisor for international relations, and the Jordanian ambassador to Russia, the two leaders reviewed scopes of cooperation between Jordan and Russia in the economic, investment and security fields.



Both sides had identical views on the need to end violence in the Palestinian areas and to start the implementation of the road map, which Russia played an key role in drafting its articles.



On the Iraqi issue, His Majesty and President Putin welcomed efforts aiming at accelerating the transfer of authority to the Iraqis, affirming the necessity of taking more initiatives and other steps to enable the Iraqi people to chose a national government on their own free will, and take over the affairs of their country, in accordance with a specific timetable as soon as possible.



His Majesty voiced happiness over meeting President Putin, indicating the role played by Russia on the international arena with regard to regional and international stability, especially those concerning the Middle East.



The Russian president for his part, praised the continuous coordination and coordination between Jordan and Russia between the two countries on issues related to the Middle East, the Palestinian cause, Iraq, in addition to bilateral relations.



President Putin highly valued Jordan's supportive stand to the Russian initiative manifested in presenting the roadmap to the Security Council to gain international legitimacy.