Saudi Foreign Minister Meets with his Singaporean Counterpart

The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs meets with his counterpart from Singapore. SPA
The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs meets with his counterpart from Singapore. SPA
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Saudi Foreign Minister Meets with his Singaporean Counterpart

The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs meets with his counterpart from Singapore. SPA
The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs meets with his counterpart from Singapore. SPA

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah met on Sunday with his counterpart from Singapore, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, with whom he reviewed ties and ways to bolster them.

They also discussed regional and international issues of common concern, and ways to intensify coordination to serve the interests of the two countries.

Several other officials attended the meeting.



Mediator Qatar Says Israel ‘Did Not Abide’ by Gaza Truce Deal

 Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, left, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, left, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)
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Mediator Qatar Says Israel ‘Did Not Abide’ by Gaza Truce Deal

 Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, left, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, left, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said Thursday that Israel had failed to respect January’s ceasefire agreement in Gaza, as he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

“As you know, we reached an agreement months ago, but unfortunately Israel did not abide by this agreement,” said the ruler of Qatar, a key mediator of the deal.

A truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Qatar with Egypt and the United States, came into force on January 19, largely halting more than 15 months of fighting triggered by Palestinian fighters’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

The initial phase of the truce ended in early March, with the two sides unable to agree on the next steps. Israel resumed air and ground attacks across the Gaza Strip on March 18 after earlier halting the entry of aid.

Israel said Wednesday that it had converted 30 percent of Gaza into a buffer zone in the widening offensive.

Sheikh Tamim said Qatar would “strive to bridge perspectives in order to reach an agreement that ends the suffering of the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza.”

Putin recognized Qatar’s “serious efforts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict” and called deaths in the conflict “a tragedy.”

“A long-term settlement can only be achieved on the basis of the UN resolution and first of all connected to the establishment of two states,” he added.

Israel’s renewed assault has so far killed at least 1,691 people in Gaza, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory reported, bringing the overall toll since the war erupted to 51,065, most of them civilians.

Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.