Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates this week for a “working visit” during which he will meet Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince.
Putin’s “negotiations will primarily be with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia,” Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Monday, according to Russia’s state-owned TASS news outlet.
Before traveling to Saudi Arabia, Putin will also hold a “working visit” in the UAE, which is currently hosting the global COP28 climate summit in Dubai.
“I hope that these will be very useful negotiations, which we consider extremely important,” Ushakov added.
Putin risks arrest in many countries around the world due to an International Criminal Court (ICC) war crimes warrant against him issued in spring 2023 and related to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In consequence, Putin’s trips outside his country have been curtailed — but neither Saudi Arabia or the UAE have ratified the ICC’s founding Rome treaty, which establishes the court’s jurisdiction.
Saudi Arabia has attempted to position itself in recent months as a mediator in Putin’s ongoing war on Ukraine; bin Salman has also held talks on multiple occasions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.