RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir received Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday in Riyadh. The two held talks in which they discussed strengthening ties between Saudi Arabia and Russia, and also held a press conference on Monday afternoon. The two discussed Syria, with Al-Jubeir saying that Saudi Arabia is committed to a political solution to the situation in the country and that it was too early to talk about reopening a Saudi embassy in Damascus. He added that there had been no change in Saudi Arabia’s position on the subject, and that it was also too early to reinstate Syria to the Arab League until progress is made on a political process to end the war. “This (reopening the embassy) is related to progress on the political process, so it is still early,” he said. “Reconstruction cannot happen until the war is over and there is stability and security in Syria,” Al-Jubeir said. Al-Jubeir also said he believes Canada will go ahead with a multibillion-dollar arms deal with the Kingdom despite remarks by the Canadian prime minister that Ottawa was looking for a way out of the agreement. “Regarding the Canada arms deal, we see the Canadian government going ahead with the deal, so the statements are for domestic consumption,” Al-Jubeir said, acknowledging that Canada is looking for a way out of the agreement. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in December he was looking for a way out of the deal. Lavrov said Russia was willing and ready to mediate between Israel and Palestine, but said the two sides were “not ready.” During the conference, Lavrov said he hoped to accelerate the development of Russian-Saudi relations and thanked the Kingdom for its recent increasing of the quota for Russian pilgrims to 22,500. He also said that Moscow hopes to contribute to the Saudi program to use nuclear energy for civilian and peaceful purposes. “Russia is ready to mediate between the Palestinians and the Israelis but both sides are not ready. Moscow is ready for any assistance in the Palestinian-Israeli issue,” Lavrov added. On the Syrian crisis, Lavrov said “we are helping the Syrian political parties to form a constitutional committee but it is the Syrian people who decide the form of their political system.” Lavrov said the regional files, including the fight against terrorism and the situations in Syria and Yemen can only be resolved through the implementation of UN resolutions.