Putin on a rare trip abroad to the Emirates and Saudi Arabia
The first stop on Putin's trip was Abu Dhabi, where he was received with full honors. As pictures from the Kremlin showed, dozens of soldiers awaited the guest at the presidential palace, while planes sprayed smoke in the sky in the colors of the Russian flag and cannon shots were fired nearby.
"Thanks to your attitude, our relations have reached an unprecedented level today," Putin told President Mohammed bin Sajed al-Nahjan on his arrival, praising the brisk trade between the states. Putin said he would talk to his colleague about the situation "in the hot zones", mentioning both the Middle East conflict and the "crisis in Ukraine".
After his talks in Abu Dhabi, Putin flew on to Riyadh, where, according to the Kremlin, he was to discuss trade, investment and international politics. Among other things, a meeting with the Saudi Arabian crown prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman was on the agenda.
According to Moscow, Putin's trip to the two Arab countries also included the cut in oil production agreed by the Opec+ oil cartel. The Kremlin did not say whether Putin would also visit the UN Climate Change Conference, which is currently taking place in Dubai in the Emirates.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued an arrest warrant against Putin in March for the abduction of Ukrainian children to Russia. As a result, Putin did not attend the major international meetings and stayed away from both the G20 summit in India in September and the summit of the Brics group of states in South Africa in August.
During his trip to the Emirates and Saudi Arabia, Putin did not have to expect to be arrested despite the arrest warrant against him. Neither country is a party to the ICC.
Since the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine in February last year, Putin has only traveled to countries that are friendly to him. This is only the third time he has left the territory of the former Soviet Union - apart from former Soviet states, he had only visited Iran and China before the current trip.
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Source: www.stern.de
