Russia’s Putin meets Saudi crown prince in whirlwind Gulf visit
RIYADH, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday had swiftly organized talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on oil, Gaza and Ukraine, hours after visiting Saudi Arabia’s Gulf neighbour, the United Arab Emirates.
It was not instantly clear what Putin, who has hardly ever left Russia because the begin of the Ukraine warfare, supposed to boost particularly about oil or geopolitics in a gathering with the de facto ruler of the world’s largest crude exporter.
The assembly with MbS, because the prince is extensively identified, comes after a fall in oil costs regardless of a pledge by OPEC+, which teams the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, to additional reduce output.
In introductory remarks proven on Russian tv, Putin thanked the crown prince for his invitation, saying he had initially anticipated MbS to visit Moscow, “but there were changes to plans”.
Their subsequent assembly ought to happen in Moscow, he stated, including: “Nothing can prevent the development of our friendly relations.”
The crown prince instructed Putin their international locations might “work together for the good of the whole world”, based on an official interpreter.
Russia’s defence ministry had earlier proven the Kremlin chief’s Ilyushin-96 plane flanked by Sukhoi-35S fighter jets on its flight from Russia to the United Arab Emirates.
Putin’s delegation included high oil, financial system, international affairs, house and nuclear power officers in addition to enterprise leaders.
At his first cease in Abu Dhabi, President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan welcomed his “dear friend”, whereas a fly-past of UAE jets trailed the colors of the Russian flag.
“Our relations, largely due to your position, have reached an unprecedentedly high level,” Putin instructed him. “The UAE is Russia’s main trading partner in the Arab world.”
Putin stated Russia and the UAE cooperated as a part of OPEC+, whose members pump greater than 40% of the world’s oil, including that they’d talk about the Israeli-Hamas battle and Ukraine.
He then headed to Riyadh for his first face-to-face talks with MbS since October 2019 – days after a key OPEC+ assembly was delayed due to disagreements – superseding what ought to have been an MbS visit to Moscow.
Putin’s final visit to the area was in July 2022, when he met Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran. The Russian president was as a consequence of host his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow on Thursday.
PUTIN AND MBS
The Kremlin stated that, in addition to oil, Putin and MbS would talk about the warfare between Israel and Hamas, the scenario in Syria and Yemen, and points resembling guaranteeing stability in the Gulf, whereas an aide stated Ukraine would even be mentioned.
Putin and MbS, who collectively management one-fifth of the oil pumped every day, have lengthy loved shut relations, although each have at occasions been ostracised by the West.
At a G20 summit in 2018, simply two months after the homicide of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate, Putin and MbS high-fived and shook fingers with smiles. Wednesday’s first encounter was simply as heat and relaxed.
MbS, 38, has sought to reassert Saudi Arabia as a regional energy with much less deference to the United States, which provides Riyadh with most of its weapons.
Putin, who despatched troops into Ukraine in February 2022, says Russia is engaged in an existential battle with the West – and has courted allies throughout the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia amid Western makes an attempt to isolate Moscow.
Both MbS and Putin, 71, want excessive costs for oil, the lifeblood of their economies. The query for each is how a lot of the burden every ought to tackle to maintain costs aloft – and the way to confirm their contributions.
OPEC+
Last month, OPEC+ delayed a gathering by a number of days as a consequence of disagreements over manufacturing ranges. The Saudi power minister stated OPEC+ additionally wished extra assurances from Moscow that it might make good on its pledge to scale back gas exports.
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Russia in OPEC+ have been uneasy at occasions. A deal on chopping exports virtually broke down in March 2020, however they managed to make up inside weeks and OPEC+ agreed to report cuts of virtually 10% of worldwide demand.
Since warfare broke out between Israel and Hamas in October, Putin has forged the battle as a failure of U.S. coverage in the Middle East and has sought to additional develop ties with Arab allies and Iran, in addition to with the Palestinian militant group.
Editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn, Bernadette Baum and Alexander Smith
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