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Putin hosts Kuwait's ruler on his first trip to Russia

Associated Press
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Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands as he meets with Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait in the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015. (Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) (The Associated Press)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, listens to Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait in the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015. (Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) (The Associated Press)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands as he meets with Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, in the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015. (Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) (The Associated Press)

President Vladimir Putin has hosted Kuwait's ruler on his first trip to Russia to discuss bilateral ties and international issues.

Putin welcomed Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, saying he would like to discuss difficult the situation in the Middle East.

Russia along with the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and other nations took part in the Oct. 30 Syria peace talks in Vienna. A second round of negotiations is set for this weekend.

At the start of Tuesday's meeting, Al Sabah offered Putin condolences over the Oct. 31 crash of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt that killed all 224 people on board. U.S. and British officials have cited intelligence reports as indicating that the plane was downed by a bomb.