Russia (Washington Insider Magazine) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to enhance his influence in the Middle East with visits to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. Following these visits, he will host Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow on Thursday. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, discussions will center on bilateral relations and the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
The agenda will also include cooperation on oil markets, with Russia’s ties to these countries reinforced through the OPEC+ alliance, which Putin helped establish in 2016. Recent OPEC+ announcements of voluntary supply cuts have drawn skepticism in the oil market, highlighting the complexities of energy diplomacy.
Putin’s diplomatic outreach comes as part of a broader strategy to showcase the resilience of Russia amid Western sanctions imposed due to its actions in Ukraine. Notably, the leaders of the UAE and Saudi Arabia are not obligated to arrest Putin under the International Criminal Court’s warrant issued in March, allowing him to engage freely.
In response to the Israel-Hamas war, Putin has criticized U.S. diplomatic efforts, framing the conflict as a consequence of Washington’s failure to support the establishment of a Palestinian state. He has proposed that Russia could mediate in the conflict, leveraging its relationships with both Israel and the Palestinians, suggesting that Moscow’s impartiality positions it uniquely in this role.
