Putin To MBS: Nothing Can Prevent Development Of Friendly Relations

Wires carrying comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin as he meets Saudi Arabia's de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) in Riyadh.

• Putin tells MBS: "Nothing can prevent development of our friendly relations... For the past 7 years relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia have reached unprecedented level... that's thanks to your father, the King."
• Putin: "We have stable, good relations in politics, economy, humanitarian spheres... Of course, it's important for all of us to exchange views about what's going on in the region."
• Putin's whistle-stop trip, which included a stop in the UAE earlier today, comes during complex negotiations within OPEC over production levels but is likely to focus on the war between Israel and Hamas - offering Putin an opportunity to deepen ties to the Gulf States, both of whom were offered membership to BRICS in the summer.
• The New York Times notes the Israel-Hamas conflict, "has played into Mr. Putin’s geopolitical aims by distracting Western leaders from the war in Ukraine," noting that the war has, "allowed the Kremlin to attract the sympathy of people in many developing countries where support for the Palestinian cause is widespread."
• Anna Borshchevskaya, a Russia expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told the Times: “We see Putin in the West as a pariah, but this visit highlights that he is welcome. Kremlin foreign policy priorities continue to resonate outside the West, which helps Putin to continue his war on Ukraine.”