Putin Boosts Mid East Ties w/Visits To Saudi & UAE; Hosting Iran Pres.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to engage in some high-level diplomacy with key Middle Eastern players over the coming days as he visits Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 6 Dec, before hosting Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on 7 Dec. Interfax has Kremlin spox Dmitri Peskov's comments on the Saudi/UAE visit:“Bilateral relations, of course ( will be discussed - IF ), exchange of views on the international agenda, on the regional agenda - this, of course, includes the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. But first of all, we are talking about bilateral relations,” Peskov said."

• Interfax: "[Peskov] was asked whether Putin was satisfied with the results of the latest OPEC+ meeting."There are certain inertial processes in the market. This is a difficult working group market. Sometimes the effect has a delayed effect. In any case, coordination will continue,” Peskov said."
• On Raisi's visit, Peskov stated that Iranian-Russian relations would be discussed, but that the final agenda had not been finalised.
• The flurry of diplomacy will come as a blow to the US and the West as it has sought to discourage Gulf nations from developing closer links with Russia in the aftermath of Moscow's invasion of Kyiv.