Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a rare visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.
As the BBC reports, Putin was welcomed in the UAE by President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan where he said that “our relations have reached unprecedented levels”.
The Russian president later travelled to Saudi Arabia to meet the kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Expected discussion topics included the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, as well as oil production, with the UAE president.
Trade and oil will be on the agenda in the UAE, which a Kremlin statement said is “Russia’s main economic partner in the Arab world”.
During a brief televised sitdown chat, Mr Putin invited the crown prince to visit Moscow.
“Nothing can prevent the development of our friendly relations,” he said, adding that it was important “to exchange information and assessments” on current regional events.
The crown prince said bilateral cooperation had “helped remove many tensions in the Middle East”.
Ahead of the meeting, the Kremlin reported that the two leaders would “consider ways to promote de-escalation” in the conflict between Israel and Hamas and that conflicts in Syria, Yemen, and Sudan would be discussed in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Kremlin officials have announced that Mr Putin will meet Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi on Thursday to discuss the war in Gaza.
Putin’s rare trips abroad
Apart from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Putin has visited only Russian-occupied Ukraine, Iran, and China since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Mr Putin, who has barely left Russia since March when the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued him an arrest warrant for war crime, will also see Iran’s leader on Thursday in Moscow.
However, neither the UAE nor Saudi Arabia recognise the court’s jurisdiction.
The Russian leader has snubbed other recent international summits including Brics in South Africa in August and the G20 summit in September in India.
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