MOSCOW, RUSSIA – SEPTEMBER 9: (RUSSIA OUT) Russian President Vladimir Putin talks throughout the show marking the City Day on September 9, 2023 in Moscow,Russia Putin and Moscow’s Mayor Sobyanin, who is anticipated to be re-elected today participated in the joyful occasions. (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images)
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates– Russian President Vladimir Putin showed up in Riyadh on Wednesday night regional time, Russian state media stated, following a quick journey to Abu Dhabi as he made “working visits” to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
The journeys were his very first to the Middle Eastern area considering that the war in Ukraine started in February 2022.
Both nations are essential trading partners for Russia, and have actually stayed neutral in the Ukraine dispute, declining to embrace Western- led sanctions versus the nation over its intrusion ofUkraine Putin has actually made extremely couple of journeys outside Russia’s borders in current months, and these sees highlight the significance of the oil-rich Mideast Gulf Arab mentions to the Kremlin’s worldwide relations.
In Abu Dhabi, Putin consulted with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan “to review the current state of multifaceted bilateral cooperation and the prospects for further expansion of ties, as well as current international issues, with a focus on the situation in the Middle East,” according to a Kremlin readout.
A post from the UAE leader’s authorities X, previously Twitter, account stated: “Today in Abu Dhabi I discussed with President Vladimir Putin the ties between our two nations, and the importance of strengthening dialogue and cooperation to ensure stability and progress. The UAE will continue to support efforts aimed at enabling global growth, prosperity and development for all.”
Putin, according to Russian state news firm RIA Novosti, informed his Emirati equivalent: “Today, thanks to your position, our relations have reached an unprecedented high level. And we are in constant contact, and our colleagues are constantly working with each other. And indeed, the United Arab Emirates is Russia’s main trading partner in the Arab world.”
The Russian leader then flew to Riyadh to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and “discuss bilateral cooperation in trade, economic and investment areas” in addition to “exchange views on the regional and international agenda,” the Kremlin readout stated.
It likewise stated that the 2 leaders would talk about oil, Israel’s war in Gaza, and the circumstances in Yemen andSyria It was not instantly clear whether the 2 would talk about Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Buenos Aires, onNov 30, 2018.
Ludovic Marin|Getty Images
The conference with the de facto Saudi leader followed oil rates fell regardless of a joint choice by OPEC+ members to make higher output cuts.
The sees will be followed by Putin hosting Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow onThursday The Kremlin’s alliance with Iran has actually grown drastically in significance, as Tehran has actually ended up being a crucial trade partner and provider of the weapons that Russia releases in Ukraine.
No worry of ICC arrest warrant in UAE or Saudi Arabia
Energy was most likely to be main to conversations in between Putin and the Middle Eastern leaders, especially after recently’s OPEC+ conference throughout which Russia, Saudi Arabia and other members of the oil manufacturers’ alliance consented to voluntary output cuts for the very first quarter of 2024.
Abu Dhabi and Moscow have actually grown better considering that Putin’s intrusion of Ukraine, a minimum of in regards to commerce: total trade in between Russia and the UAE increased by almost 68% on the year to $9 billion in 2022, according to Russian state news firmTass Russian exports to the UAE consisted of $8.5 billion of that overall.
In February 2023, Russian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Sergey Kozlov promised to bring Russian-Saudi bilateral trade to $5 billion each year, Middle East Briefing reports. That figure was $1.75 billion in 2022, however sell sectors like farming, fertilizer and energy products has actually increased considerably, according to Russian financial experts.
Putin’s journeys overseas have actually been seriously restricted due to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for him over declared war criminal offenses. Notably, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have actually not validated the statute that governs the ICC, implying they are not bound to apprehend the Russian leader on their area. The sees are the very first by Putin to those nations considering that 2019.
Correction: Russian exports to the UAE consisted of $8.5 billion of total trade in between Russia and the UAE in2022 An earlier variation misstated the figure.
