A tour for the ruler of Qatar covering Russia, Turkey, Libya

Well informed diplomatic sources in Doha said the ruler of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Bin Khaleifa al-Thani will start a tour that will cover Russia, Turkey and Libya.

The sources said that Sheikh Hamad's talks with officials in these countries will deal with besides means of supporting bilateral relations, issues relating to the implications of September 11 attacks at New York and Washington, the situation in Afghanistan and the international campaign against terrorism.

The Russian ambassador to Qatar said Sheikh Hamad's current visit to Moscow ( December 24) is the first of its kind in the history of bilateral relations for a Qatari leader, noting the importance of this visit, in light of Qatar's current presidency of the Organization of the Islamic Conference OIC.

Meantime, the sources indicated that the Qatari- Turkish talks will concentrate on means of supporting co-operation in economic fields and searching for new opportunities to support such a co-operation.