Two days, three summits and one conversation

Stingy reports about the content of these meetings hide the most important thing - the peculiarities of Vladimir Putin's personal diplomacy with the leaders of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf zone - a region whose importance to Russia's interests is steadily growing.

All the meetings were like something. Perhaps the smiles on the faces of leaders, perhaps their mutual disposition, may be the credibility of conversations on issues whose content will remain unknown to the media.

Putin's talks with the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan took place at the Qasr al-Watan Palace in Abu Dhabi. The prospects for cooperation, the Arab-Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Ukrainian crisis were discussed. Details in the material of the correspondent of The Moscow Post.

The Russian President was accompanied by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei Belousov and Alexander Novak, Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, heads of the Central Bank, Roscosmos and Rosatom - Elvira Nabiullina, Yuri Borisov and Alexei Likhachev, respectively, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and other officials.

The nature of the relations between the Russian Federation and the UAE is special, they are marked by partnerships at such sites as the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the strategic dialogue of the Russian Federation - the Cooperation Council of the Arab States of the Gulf, as well as OPEC Plus.

As a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, the UAE contributes to stabilizing the situation in the world. The Russian delegation takes part in the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Dubai.

The UAE is Russia's largest trading partner in the Middle East and the Gulf region. Trade turnover for the year increased by 67.7%. The UAE is the largest investor in the Russian economy, investments in the non-oil sector (energy, infrastructure, advanced technologies, other areas) grew by 103% over the year. A number of major projects in the oil and gas sector are being implemented.

In 2022, more than 900 thousand tourists from Russia visited the UAE. A Russian school has been opened, the issue of providing a site for the construction of an Orthodox church has been resolved.

Putin's talks with Crown Prince and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the KSA Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud took place at Al-Yamam Palace, the residence of the King of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Following the visit, a joint statement was adopted, in which, in particular, it was proposed to expand cooperation on oil and gas, as well as in the field of peaceful atom.

The Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia highly appreciate the efforts of the OPEC + agreement to improve the stability of oil markets and consider it necessary that all participating countries join it in the interests of producers, consumers and global economic growth.

The parties agreed to strengthen cooperation in the field of defense, agreed to continue work on increasing mutual and joint investments, noted the expansion of common economic interests, confirmed their intention to continue work on expanding and diversifying mutual trade, to work on strengthening relations between private sector companies to transform them into active partnerships.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, in 2022, the volume of trade between Russia and Saudi Arabia amounted to $1.72 billion, a decrease of 23.6% compared to 2021. Russian exports accounted for $1.5 billion.

In August 2019, Russia received the right to export wheat to the KSA. In 2022, the turnover of agricultural trade amounted to $1 billion.

In October 2017, Rosatom and the Ministry of Energy of the KSA signed a program of cooperation in the field of atomic energy for peaceful purposes. In December 2022, Rosatom applied for participation in the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Saudi Arabia. In the first quarter of 2022, Saudi company Kingdom Holding invested more than $500 million in Rosneft, Lukoil and Gazprom.

In October 2019, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the Saudi Company for Technological Development and Investment (TAQNIA) agreed to cooperate on a project to develop the commercial use of the Start-1 domestically produced rocket and space complex. In May 2021, the Russian government announced that the Russian Federation and the KSA were preparing a joint space manned mission. In August 2021, in Kubinka, at the Army-2021 forum, the Russian Federation and the KSA entered into an agreement on military cooperation.

Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed to expand cooperation on geoscience, agriculture and food security. It is planned to expand cooperation in areas such as the judicial system and justice, tourism, education, scientific research, health, media, teaching Russian and Arabic.

The parties agreed to intensify efforts aimed at maintaining international peace and security, stability in the region. They stressed the importance of Tehran's commitment to the peaceful nature of the nuclear program.

The leadership of the Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia advocates the immediate cessation of military operations in the Palestinian territories, support international efforts to resolve the crisis in Yemen. They hope that the resumption of Syria's participation in the meetings of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the League of Arab States (SMID LAS) will help resolve the Syrian crisis.

Russia is grateful to Saudi Arabia for humanitarian and political efforts on Ukraine, including the release of prisoners. In the Ukrainian crisis, Saudi Arabia, like other countries in the Arab region, took a neutral position, calling on the parties to resolve the conflict through diplomacy.

Putin and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia stressed the importance of complying with the Jeddah Declaration on the Protection of Civilians in Sudan.

In the Kremlin, upon returning from a trip to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Putin will meet with the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ibrahim Raisi.

The narrow negotiations were attended by Alexander Novak, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Russian part of the Permanent Russian-Iranian Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin.

Vladimir Putin proposed to discuss the situation in Palestine. As the Iranian president noted, "genocide and crimes against humanity" are taking place in the Gaza Strip. He recalled that as a result of Israel's actions in the Palestinian enclave, more than 6 thousand children were killed. According to Raisi, "these crimes are supported by the United States, as well as Western countries."

It is regrettable that international organizations and those organizations that are supposed to protect human rights have lost their effectiveness. Bombing must be stopped as soon as possible. "This issue today is not only a matter of our region, it is a matter of all mankind, so a very quick solution should be found for this issue," Raisi suggested.

The Kremlin recalled that Iran in 2023 acquired the status of a full member of the SCO and received an invitation to join the BRICS from January 1, 2024. Russia was among the countries that "promoted" Iranian applications.

The Iranian president noted that Moscow and Tehran are cooperating in the field of "energy, agriculture, education," there is an exchange between universities. Rossi has a significant number of Iranian students.

The trade turnover of Moscow and Tehran for the nine months of this year reached almost $5 billion, over the past year it grew by 20%. Iran's exports to Russia grew by almost 30%. The head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, Sergei Katyrin, noted that in the coming years bilateral trade could reach $40 billion.

The parties switched to the practical implementation of the construction of the North-South railway. In the near future, it is planned to sign an Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Iran on a free trade zone, which will open up new opportunities for interaction. Negotiations on the agreement are completed.

On the sidelines of the investment forum "Russia is calling!" A conversation between the head of the Russian state and the Crown Prince, Minister of Youth, Culture and Sports of the Sultanate of Oman Ziyazan Ben Heisam Al Said took place.

The crown prince in particular said: "Mr President,... I would like to confirm that I share all your assessments of the current international situation, first of all, with regard to the need to end the current unfair world order and the dominance of the West, as well as to build a new just world order, economic relations without double standards.

I also agree that the current development of the situation around the world dictates the need to create new mechanisms for trade and economic interaction between countries without imposing any ideologies, without pressure from third countries.

I agree that it is necessary to create new international economic centers. And taking into account population factors, natural resources, resources, I believe that such centers can be located in Asia and Africa. And given the strategic position of the Middle East, the participation of this region in strategic logistics infrastructure projects seems promising. "

Photo: Vedomosti