- Travel to Saudi Arabia and UAE
- Talks expected on Israel-Hamas war
Abu Dhabi. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin will embark on a visit to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, solidifying his growing influence in the Middle East. The following day, he will welcome Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to Moscow. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the discussions during these visits will primarily revolve around bilateral relations and the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Additionally, the talks will address the topic of oil market cooperation, considering Moscow's involvement with all three nations through OPEC+. This alliance comprises the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, with Russia at the helm.
The OPEC+ format serves as the platform for these discussions, with a continuous focus on cooperation in this particular domain, as stated by Peskov. Putin played a pivotal role in the establishment of the OPEC+ group back in 2016. Recently, the group announced additional voluntary reductions in oil supply, a decision that was met with skepticism by the oil market. In a separate statement, Yury Ushakov, Putin's foreign policy adviser, expressed satisfaction with the fruitful collaboration between Saudi Arabia and Russia within the oil cooperation body. Ushakov emphasized that the close coordination between the two countries in this format acts as a dependable guarantee for maintaining stability and predictability in the global oil market, as reported by Russian news agencies.
Putin’s drive to enhance its relations with Gulf and other Middle Eastern countries is a reflection of his determination to showcase the ineffectiveness of Western sanctions in isolating Moscow due to its involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. Following the issuance of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in March, accusing Putin of deporting Ukrainian children, the Russian leader has limited his international travels. However, since neither the UAE nor Saudi Arabia are signatories to the ICC’s founding treaty, they are not obligated to apprehend Putin if he were to visit their territories. In light of Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza in response to Hamas’s attacks on October 7, Putin has strategically framed the conflict as a failure of U.S. diplomacy. He asserts that Washington has prioritized providing economic aid to the Palestinians over actively working towards the establishment of a Palestinian state.
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