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Vladimir Putin is set to visit both Saudi Arabia and the UAE on Wednesday, the first time he has travelled to the region since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced the working visits on Tuesday and said that “the parties will discuss bilateral relations and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict”.
Saudi Arabia is Russia’s key partner in Opec+, while the UAE has become the main international hub for Russian businesses and a significant route for circumventing western sanctions.
Putin enjoys close relations with both the oil-exporting Gulf states, which have remained neutral in the Ukraine conflict. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have not ratified the statute that governs the International Criminal Court, which has indicted the Russian president for alleged war crimes.
Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, ruler of the UAE, have developed personal relationships with Putin and touted themselves as interlocutors between Russia and the west.
Last month, the US imposed sanctions on three UAE-based shipowners, accusing them of exporting Russian crude oil priced above a $60-per-barrel cap imposed by the G7 and Australia. The move by Washington highlighted increased western efforts to clamp down on sanctions circumvention, after the Financial Times reported that in October, almost all of Russian oil traded above the G7 price cap.
Putin on Thursday will also host Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow, an important ally and provider of military equipment for Russian forces in Ukraine. Iran and Saudi Arabia have long been regional rivals, although the two signed a China-brokered deal this year to restore diplomatic relations.
Since ordering the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin has limited his travels to countries of the former Soviet Union, as well as China and Iran.
Aside from their practical value, these visits are a way for Putin to show that Russia is not in international isolation, said Andrey Kolesnikov, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.
“It’s both a message to the elites — that these regions are now fields for engagement and a way to reassure the population that Russia is not isolated from the outside world.”