Isolated by the West, Vladimir Putin finds other allies. The Russian president visits the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday before receiving the Iranian president in Moscow on Thursday, continuing his return to the international scene despite Western attempts to isolate him. With the failure of the great Ukrainian summer counter-offensive on the front, the absorption of the shock of Western sanctions by the Russian economy and international attention focused on Gaza and Israel, Vladimir Putin indeed seems more confident.
According to the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin will meet President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan in the Emirates to discuss their prospects for cooperation and the situation in the Middle East. In Riyadh, he will be received by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to talk about trade, investments and international politics. Dmitri Peskov explained that the Russian president would discuss in particular the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as the reductions in oil production within the framework of OPEC + of which Russia is a member.
Iran, China, Central Asia
After his visit to the Middle East, Vladimir Putin will receive Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi in Russia on Thursday for talks. “There will be Russian-Iranian talks on December 7,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, when asked about the dates of the visit. According to the official Iranian press agency Irna, Ebrahim Raïssi is going to Moscow at the head of a “high-ranking political-economic delegation”.
“Bilateral issues, including economic interactions, as well as discussions on regional and international issues, particularly the situation in Gaza, will feature high on the agenda of the one-day trip,” added the Iranian agency.
Before this diplomatic sequence, Vladimir Putin went to China in October, to his ally Xi Jinping, a visit which was an opportunity for the two leaders to display their closeness. A few days earlier, he had traveled to Kyrgyzstan, an ally of Moscow, for his first trip abroad since the arrest warrant was issued by the ICC.