Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Western sanctions against Putin have been increasing day by day. Whether in foreign affairs or on the offensive, the United States and the West have spared no effort to exert various means. Previously, the International Criminal Court issued a "wanted warrant" for Putin himself, accusing him of "war crimes". However, this little trick of the West, in the face of a tough guy like Putin, is undoubtedly in vain. No, Putin recently directly ignored the so-called wanted notices of the West and went to the Middle East to carry out foreign visits.
It is understood that on December 6, local time, four Su-35S fighters, each carrying four missiles, escorted Putin's plane to the official departure. The first stop is the United Arab Emirates, and the second stop is Saudi Arabia. Putin's rare foreign visit has taken the West by surprise. First, because of the arrest of the International Criminal Court and other reasons, Putin missed a series of important international meetings this year, such as the BRICS summit in South Africa, the G20 summit in India, and the APEC summit in the United States. Except for visits to China, Iran, and Kyrgyzstan, Putin has not made any foreign visits. Secondly, Putin left the country again, and unlike in the past, his destination this time was no longer Central Asian countries, nor China, but two allies of the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. If Russia opens an opening from the Middle East, it means that the United States' overall strategic plan to suppress Russia has been loosened, and Putin will take this opportunity to officially start the process of returning to the international arena.
In fact, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are obviously also willing to deal with Russia, a big country, and the United States is not the only diplomatic option for the Gulf countries in today's multipolar world. We can see this in some details. On the afternoon of December 16, after Putin's plane arrived in the United Arab Emirates, four Su-35S loaded with live ammunition also landed. Generally in diplomatic occasions, it is already a high standard for the host country to send fighter jets to meet the escort, but this time the UAE's own fighter jets also carried out a welcome ceremony, drawing the Russian tricolor flag in the air, and then Putin arrived at the main entrance of the palace under the escort of the UAE cavalry, and went to the reception hall together under the greeting of the UAE. During the talks between Putin and Afghanistan, the two sides discussed bilateral cooperation, the oil market, and the Ukrainian and Palestinian-Israeli issues. The two countries have made it clear that they will further strengthen economic cooperation. While receiving Putin warmly, the Saudi side also had in-depth discussions with Putin on OPEC+ cooperation and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman later made it clear that cooperation with Russia helped to remove many tensions in the Middle East and helped strengthen security, and will continue to do so in the future.
First, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are all countries with a say in OPEC+, and they need to closely coordinate and take measures such as extending or expanding production cuts to further promote the recovery of oil prices and promote consistency within OPEC+. This will be a major blow to the United States, which has long pursued the "oil for security" route in the Middle East. As for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Russia now wants some kind of mediator-like role, similar to the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement that China has brokered before, and if Russia can win the goodwill of regional countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, on this issue, it can better serve its regional strategy, economic interests, and oil resources.
In addition, in the long run, Russia will host the next BRICS summit next year, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as new members after this year's expansion. Putin needs to better bring Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates together at this juncture, when the successful holding of the BRICS summit will not only be a major breakthrough in Russia's diplomacy, but also make the blockade of the United States and the West a complete joke.