Putin's Visit to Middle East Offers Little More than Strengthened Ties

Russian President Putin’s visit to the Middle East yesterday provided little in the way of oil market moving headlines or policy change despite energy being on the agenda.

• Saudi comments about the meet said it had "helped remove tensions in Middle East".
• "We talked again about cooperation in OPEC+," Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying. "The parties agree that our countries bear a great responsibility for interaction in order to maintain the international energy market at the proper level, in a stable, predictable state."
• "This cooperation will continue," Peskov said.
• Reuters reports earlier stated that Russia will share oil market information with 6 industry companies to provide greater transparency on its commitments to export cuts, highlighting likely discontent by Saudi towards its prior efforts this year.
• Putin had an earlier meeting Wednesday with Abu Dhabi President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan but again yielded little in the way of oil market headlines.
• "Our relations, largely due to your position, have reached an unprecedentedly high level," Putin told him. "The UAE is Russia's main trading partner in the Arab world."
• Both Saudi’s MBS and Russia’s Putin will likely be frustrated with falling oil prices as they seek to boost income. Saudi has grand visions for new mega structures being built in the country while Russia has a costly war to fund.