© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech throughout a ceremony to obtain diplomatic credentials from newly appointed international ambassadors on the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, December 4, 2023. Sputnik/Pavel Bednyakov/Pool through R
By Aziz El Yaakoubi and Vladimir Soldatkin
RIYADH (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 broadly identified, comes after a fall in oil costs regardless of a pledge by OPEC+, which teams the Group of the Petroleum Exporting International locations (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 go to 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 informed Putin their international locations might “work together for the good of the whole world”, in line with 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 prime oil, economic system, international affairs, area and nuclear vitality 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 informed 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 focus on 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 go to to Moscow.
Putin’s final go to to the area was in July 2022, when he met Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran. The Russian president was because 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 focus on the warfare between Israel and Hamas, the state of affairs in Syria and Yemen, and points equivalent to making certain stability within 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 instances 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 USA, 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 Center East, Africa, Latin America and Asia amid Western makes an attempt to isolate Moscow.
Each 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 confirm their contributions.
OPEC+
Final month, OPEC+ delayed a gathering by a number of days because of disagreements over manufacturing ranges. The Saudi vitality minister stated OPEC+ additionally wished extra assurances from Moscow that it could make good on its pledge to scale back gas exports.
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Russia in OPEC+ have been uneasy at instances. 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 just about 10% of worldwide demand.
Since warfare broke out between Israel and Hamas in October, Putin has solid the battle as a failure of U.S. coverage within the Center East and has sought to additional develop ties with Arab allies and Iran, in addition to with the Palestinian militant group.
