In just 48 hours, Russia's Putin held talks with three Middle Eastern leaders.
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Beijing News reporter Zhu Yuehong editor Zhang Lei.
In just 48 hours, Russia's Putin held talks with three Middle Eastern leaders.
According to CCTV News, on the evening of December 7, local time, Putin held talks with visiting Iranian Raisi in Moscow. The day before, Putin visited the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, and held talks with Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, which is very "rare" in the eyes of the outside world.
Putin's talks with the three Middle Eastern leaders took place in just 48 hours, with a tight schedule and topics ranging from oil policy to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Xinhua News Agency reported that this is Putin's third visit to a country outside the former Soviet Union after the escalation of the Ukraine crisis in February last year. According to expert analysis, Putin's intensive diplomatic activities in the Middle East send an important signal to the international community, that is, Russia is seeking to break the encirclement of the United States and the West, and strive to form a situation in which the majority of countries in the world support Russia.
Putin meets with Raisi.
The topics were mainly related to free trade agreements.
During his meeting with Raisi in Moscow, Putin said that the bilateral volume between Russia and Iran has reached about $5 billion, and the bilateral volume increased by 20 percent last year. Raisi said that Iran-Russia cooperation is proceeding smoothly and the two countries will continue to promote the development of bilateral relations.
On December 7, 2023 local time, Moscow, Russia, Putin of Russia held talks with Raisi, Iran. Fig. ic photo
Putin asked Raisi to convey his best wishes to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Ali Khamenei and promised Raisi that he would visit Iran upon invitation.
Putin added that Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union plan to conclude a free trade agreement at the end of the year, which will create more opportunities for expanding interaction between the two countries.
According to Zhao Huirong, a researcher at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the main topic of Putin's meeting with Iran at this time is that the Eurasian Economic Union and Iran can sign a free trade area agreement.
In June, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk disclosed that Iran could reach a free ** agreement with Russia and other Eurasian Economic Union countries by the end of this year. The Eurasian Economic Union was established in 2015 and includes Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.
According to CCTV News, since the escalation of the Ukraine crisis in February last year, Russia has been subject to multiple rounds of sanctions by the United States and the West, and has been restricted from foreign countries, and then looks for markets outside Europe. Iran's free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union will replace and expand the scope of the existing agreement. The two sides have reached provisional agreements on tariff concessions on hundreds of goods. In November last year, Russia began exchanging oil products with Iran. Iran said in March that it had exchanged oil and gas products with Russia "in large quantities".
Putin's "rare" visit to the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Prior to the meeting with Raisi, Putin made a "whirlwind" visit to the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
On December 6, local time, Mohammed Mohammed in the United Arab Emirates will meet with visiting Russian Putin. The two sides discussed cooperation in various fields between the two countries and exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Putin received a high-level reception after arriving in Abu Dhabi on a special plane. Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the head of the Arab side, went to greet himThe guard of honor lined up along the road in Putin's car;The warplane pulled out a red, blue and white smoke in the air, which symbolizes the Russian flag;A gun salute rang out.
On December 6, 2023 local time, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Mohammed Mohammed will meet with visiting Russian Putin. Fig. ic photo
Mohammed said that relations between the two countries have achieved positive development in various fields in recent years, the UAE has become Russia's largest partner and investor among Arab countries, and the non-oil growth of the two countries in 2022 is "unprecedented" by nearly 109%, "showing the particularity of the relationship between the two countries." Mohammed called Putin a "dear friend" and said he was happy to see Putin again.
Putin told Mohammed that he was grateful for the friendly reception given by the United Arab Emirates, which is Russia's main partner and that relations between the two countries "have reached unprecedented heights." In June, they met on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia.
After concluding his visit to the UAE, Putin traveled to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, for talks with Mohammed bin Salman, where they last met face-to-face in 2019.
On December 6, 2023 local time, Russia** Putin arrived in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, and led a delegation to visit Saudi Arabia. Fig. ic photo
According to Xinhua News Agency, Crown Prince Mohammed said that Saudi Arabia and Russia have common interests and cooperation in many aspects, and cooperation in the fields of energy, agriculture, ** and investment has made great achievements in the past few years. The joint efforts of both sides have helped to ease tensions in the Middle East. Putin said that the two countries have solid and good relations in the political, economic, and humanitarian fields. During the talks, Putin also invited Crown Prince Mohammed to visit Russia.
In the eyes of the outside world, Putin's visit to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia is "rare".
Some commentators said that due to multiple factors such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Putin has reduced his overseas visits. Putin's visit is a sign of Russia's quest to reassert itself on the global stage.
According to Xinhua News Agency, it is also rare that four Su-35S fighters of the Russian Aerospace Forces escorted Putin's special plane throughout the flight. The escort fighters carry the R-73 short-range air-to-air missile and the R-77 medium-range air-to-air missile, the latter of which has a range of up to 110 km.
Under normal circumstances, the host country may send fighter jets to greet visiting dignitaries, but it is rare for the other side to escort fighter jets into the country, let alone carry live ammunition. According to Russian press secretary Dmitry Peskov, considering the situation in the Middle East, in order to ensure Putin's safety, fighter jets were sent to escort the whole process. The escort fighters were piloted by top pilots of the Russian military, and the Russian side obtained permission for countries along the route to fly over the airspace.
48 hours of Middle East diplomacy highlighted.
Putin's efforts to reshape the international order.
From his visits to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to his meeting with Iran** in Moscow, Putin's Middle East diplomacy has come to an end in the past 48 hours. According to Zhao Huirong's analysis, Putin's intensive contacts with the leaders of the three Middle East countries are mainly based on economic and current considerations.
Zhao Huirong said that as far as the current information is concerned, Putin's trip to the Middle East is mainly economic diplomacy: he hopes to maintain full communication with the Middle East energy powers, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, and form a favorable situation in terms of energy and output, and at the same time hold talks with Iran on the free trade agreement to be signed at the end of the year.
Some commentators say that Putin's trip to the Middle East is also an attempt to prove that the West's attempt to isolate Russia through sanctions due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict has failed.
Public reports show that both Saudi Arabia and the UAE are Russia's main partners when it comes to energy. At the same time, they remain neutral in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Zhao Huirong believes that judging from the current situation, Putin's Middle East diplomacy may be related to the situation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which are very important to both Russia and Middle Eastern countries and will affect the changes in the international environment in the future.
In the critical period of changes in the relations between major powers, Putin has strengthened communication and cooperation with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and other countries, especially Saudi Arabia's diplomatic independence is becoming stronger and stronger, and it is not consistent with the United States' position on many things, which is conducive to Putin's efforts to reshape the international order. Zhao Huirong said, "In this process, Putin hopes to strengthen cooperation with countries that he considers friendly, and strive to form a situation in which the majority of countries in the world support Russia." ”