Saudi king makes historic visit to Russia
5 Oct 2017 4:40 PM GMT
Moscow: Saudi Arabia's King Salman, on the first official trip to Russia by a ruler of the oil-rich Sunni powerhouse, was set to meet President Vladimir Putin to discuss energy contracts despite discord over the Syrian conflict.
While they are partners on the oil market, on the foreign policy front, Moscow and Riyadh are on opposite sides of the war in Syria, with Russia supporting President Bashar al-Assad while Saudi Arabia supports the opposition.
Salman and Putin are expected to discuss major defence and energy contracts, as well as extending oil production cuts ahead of the OPEC oil cartel meeting in November.
Saudi Arabia and Russia are heavily dependent on oil exports and the global plunge of the price of crude that began in 2014 lashed both of their economies.
Members of OPEC, of which Saudi Arabia is the biggest producer, have joined with non-member Russia and other countries in cutting crude output in a pact that has helped prop up prices.
On Wednesday, Putin said an extension of the OPEC deal was possible and could last "at least to the end of 2018".
"Russian-Saudi contacts are important and their potential is rather great," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
"The political will of Moscow and Riyadh for deeper cooperation on the widest range of issues is clear," he added. The 81-year-old monarch's three-day visit got off to an awkward start yesterday evening after landing at Moscow's Vnukovo-2 airport when the escalator he uses to descend from his plane malfunctioned.
The escalator stopped midway, forcing the king to walk down himself, to be met by Russian officials including deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin and a military brass band.
King Salman arrived with a delegation of more than 1,000 people, reported Kommersant business daily.
Kommersant also said Putin and Salman are due to discuss an arms deal worth more than $3 billion to supply Riyadh with S-400 air defence systems.
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