His Majesty King Abdullah II and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Tuesday mechanisms of promoting relations between Jordan and Russia in the various fields in addition to the current situation in the Middle East.

The talks which were attended by His Royal Highness Prince Faisal Ben Al Hussein and a number of high ranking officials from both sides, focused on means of enhancing bilateral ties in the political, economic and security fields. Talks also covered ways of enhancing military cooperation in addition to the exchange of military expertise.

His Majesty and President Putin affirmed that the distinguished ties between the two counties reflect the identical views of both countries towards a number of regional and international issues.

Discussions also touched on the deteriorating situation in the Palestinian lands and efforts to revive the peace process through the resumption of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis on the basis of the road map.

On Iraq, the King and Putin expressed hope that Iraq's acceptance of Security Council resolution 1441 and the return of weapons inspectors would form a positive step in the right direction to solve the Iraqi crisis through the UN, and spare Iraq a possible war.

Meanwhile, His Majesty held a meeting with the Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Dimitrov during which he discussed with him cooperation between the two countries in military fields.