Putin in Saudi Arabia and UAE is the next destination
English - Monday 14 October 2019 الساعة 03:23 pm
Aden – NewsYemen.net
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Monday, starting his first official visit in 12 years.
The Russian president met with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz at Al-Yamamah Palace to discuss cooperation between the two countries in various fields.
The meeting between King Salman and Putin discussed prospects of cooperation between Riyadh and Moscow in the fields of energy, agriculture, industry, military-technical cooperation and cultural and humanitarian exchanges.
The Russian president is on a visit to the Gulf region, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Russian president's visit to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi includes the signing of several economic agreements.
After Saudi Arabia, Putin will travel to the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday where he will meet Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Saudi Arabia, OPEC's biggest producer and biggest exporter, and Russia, although not a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), have had close cooperation in recent years with the aim of cutting oil supply in a bid to raise prices.
With the end of the last extension of production cuts decided by the 24 producing countries at the end of March 2020, Russian political analyst Fyodor Lukyanov expects this issue will be the "main topic of talks" between Putin and Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Saudi Arabia's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir was asked about fears that a rapprochement between Riyadh and Moscow would affect the relationship with Washington, saying he saw no conflict.
"We do not believe that close relations with Russia have a negative impact on relations with the United States," Jubeir told reporters on Sunday.
He added that Saudi Arabia believes that it is possible to establish strategic and strong relations with the United States while developing relations with Russia.
