Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates aims to align the oil-rich countries on OPEC+ policy and reassure them about Russia's growing ties with Iran, while the likely lack of a significant U.S. response to the visit will create space for deeper Russian-Gulf cooperation and further foreign travel by Putin. On Dec. 6, Putin traveled to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to discuss bilateral relations, oil trade and prices, and international affairs, namely the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. During his meeting with UAE leader Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Putin noted that relations between Russia and the United Arab Emirates had reached an ''unprecedentedly high level,'' and that Abu Dhabi was Moscow's main trading partner in the Arab world, with trade turnover between the two countries reportedly increasing by more than 67% last year. And in his meeting with Saudi Arabia...
