LOC10:17
07:17 GMT
RIYADH, Feb 29 (KUNA) -- Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman Al-Saud discussed with French President Emmanuel Macron over the phone on Thursday topics of common interests, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
SPA added the two leaders shared their views on some regional and international issues and ways to achieve security and stability. They also talked about the bilateral ties between the two countries and the means to enhance them in various fields, it said.
Simultaneously in Paris, the Elyse issued an official statement noting that France and Saudi Arabia affirmed the urgent need for reaching a cease-fire in Gaza.
The statement said that the Saudi Crown Prince and the French President discussed as a priority enforcing a truce in Gaza to protect the civilians, sending in the relief supplies and releasing all hostages including three French citizens.
President Macron expressed, during the conversation with the Crown Prince, France's firm opposition to launching an Israeli offensive on Rafah, an eventuality that will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe of new magnitude.
Macron indicated that France, in coordination with Jordan and other states, dropped humanitarian supplies onto Gaza on February 26-27.
He noted that the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel is the sole option to meet the security needs of Israel and the Palestinian people.
The two sides, the official statement added, discussed regional issues and Macron stressed the necessity of halting the armed escalation in Lebanon and the Red Sea, noting that Paris had sent messages in this regard to the regional countries, namely Iran. (end)
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