Putin makes rare trip to Saudi Arabia and UAE

President Vladimir Putin plans to visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia this week, Russian media reported on December 4.

Putin will travel to two Middle Eastern countries for a working visit, during which he will meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), Russian state news agencies TASS and Ria Novosti said, citing the Shot Telegram channel and Russian news website Life News.

Immediately after his trip to the UAE, Putin will visit Saudi Arabia, where “his talks will mainly take place with the Crown Prince,” the Shot Telegram channel quoted Yury Ushakov, aide to the Russian president, as saying.

The UAE is currently hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), but it is unclear whether Mr Putin will attend the event.

“I hope that these will be very useful talks, which we consider extremely important,” Ushakov was quoted as saying by Life News.

Mr Putin will make the visit at a time when Russia wants to enhance its role as a mediator in the Middle East conflict.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has in recent months tried to position itself as a mediator in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in Europe; Crown Prince MBS has also held several talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

World - Mr. Putin makes rare trip to Saudi Arabia and UAE — Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the Russia Expo international exhibition and forum at the Exhibition Center for National Economic Achievements (VDNKh) in Moscow, Russia, December 4, 2023. The event opens in November 2023 and is expected to last until early April 2024. Photo: Sputnik

News of Mr Putin's visit comes after the OPEC+ group of oil producers – including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Russia – agreed to the latest round of voluntary crude output cuts totalling around 2.2 million barrels per day.

The market reacted with skepticism to the deal amid doubts about whether the voluntary cuts would be fully implemented. Oil prices fell 2% last week following the announcement and fell further on December 4. The 2.2 million bpd figure includes an extension of the current voluntary cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia of 1.3 million bpd.

Mr Putin has rarely travelled abroad in recent years, mainly to former Soviet countries. The Russian leader's most recent trip was to China in October.

The Russian president's foreign travels have been in the spotlight since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him on charges that he was personally responsible for the abduction of children from Ukraine. Moscow denies all charges and considers the ICC's decision null and void because Russia is not a member of the ICC.

Since the arrest warrant was issued in March, Mr Putin has chosen not to attend the BRICS Summit in South Africa because the country is an ICC member and is obliged to arrest the Russian leader if he visits the “black continent” country.

Because neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE have signed the Rome Statute establishing the ICC, neither country would be obliged to execute the warrant.

Putin's most recent visits to the UAE and Saudi Arabia took place in October 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. During the visits, many documents were signed .

Minh Duc (According to AP, TASS, Reuters)

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