A whirlwind visit to the Middle East. Vladimir Putin arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday (December 6th) from the United Arab Emirates, the latest stop on a whirlwind visit to the Gulf focused on oil and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Russian president, whom the West has sought to isolate since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has for a time made himself rarer abroad by reserving his trips to his closest allies, but he is making a comeback on the international scene.

This time, he chose to visit economic partners deemed important. And for whom the president, who is the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the "deportation" of Ukrainian children, does not risk arrest, as these two countries have not ratified the founding treaty of this institution.

Discussions around the energy sector

Vladimir Putin arrived in Riyadh by plane in the evening, according to Russian television footage, before being received by Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince and strongman of Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude exporter.

"Nothing can prevent the development of our friendly relations," the Russian president said, inviting the Saudi leader to pay a visit to Moscow.

"It is very important for all of us to exchange information and assessments with you about what is happening in the region. Our meeting is certainly timely," he added.

The two men are expected to discuss investments but also "their cooperation in the energy sector", which guarantees a "stable and predictable situation" on the international market, according to the Kremlin. Russia is the world's third-largest producer of crude.

Discussing the conflict between Israel and Hamas

The conflict between Israel and Hamas will also be on the agenda, including "ways to promote de-escalation," according to Moscow.

For this one-day diplomatic trip, Vladimir Putin first stopped in the Emirates. Received at the imposing presidential palace in Abu Dhabi, he held talks with his counterpart, Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

He was greeted with honors: dozens of armed soldiers awaited him at the palace, while an air patrol crossed the sky spreading smoke bombs in the colors of the Russian flag and cannon shots were fired nearby, according to images released by the Kremlin.

"Thanks to your position, our relations have reached an unprecedented level," Putin said at the start of the meeting.

The Russian head of state assured that the Emirates were "Russia's main trading partner in the Arab world", referring to "projects in the gas and oil sector".

He also said he wanted to discuss the situation "in hot spots", citing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but also "the crisis in Ukraine".

Ahead of the trip, the Russian presidency said the leaders would discuss cutting oil production within the framework of OPEC+, an alliance of oil-exporting countries and partners, of which Russia is a member.

Travel compelled by the ICC's international arrest warrant

Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, did not attend COP28, which is taking place in Dubai. The Russian president, treated as a pariah by the West, has been absent from previous major international meetings: the G20 summit in India in September and the BRICS summit in South Africa in August.

Officially, Vladimir Putin says he avoids these meetings so as not to "cause problems" for the organizers. Still, the ICC's arrest warrant hinders his travels because he could theoretically be arrested if he traveled to a member country.

Lately, Vladimir Putin has favoured trips to very friendly lands. In October, he was received in China by his counterpart, Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Initiative. A few days earlier, he had travelled to Kyrgyzstan on his first trip abroad since the arrest warrant issued by the ICC.

But the Russian head of state sees an international context more favourable to his interests. Ukraine's long-awaited counteroffensive shattered Russian defenses this summer. As for the West's hitherto unconditional support for Kiev, it is showing signs of eroding, thanks to political divisions, as the Kremlin had hoped.

"Putin is certainly speaking more confidently than at any time since the start of the war" in Ukraine, said Nigel Gould-Davies, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Inside Russia, oil revenues have recovered, any opposition to the Kremlin has been methodically muzzled, and Vladimir Putin is preparing to launch his re-election campaign in March, which is hardly in doubt.

With AFP

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