(Abu Dhabi) Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, the first stop on a short diplomatic visit to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and oil.
The leader that the West has sought to isolate since his offensive in Ukraine has for a time become rarer abroad, but he is making a return to the international scene.
Targeted by an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, he had until then reserved his travels for his closest allies.
On Wednesday, he “arrived on a working visit to the United Arab Emirates,” said the Kremlin’s Telegram channel, which broadcast images showing the president welcomed on the tarmac by the Emirati Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Mr. Putin must in particular address “the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”, as well as the reduction in oil production within the framework of OPEC+ of which Russia is a member, according to the Russian presidency.
OPEC+ is an alliance formed by the 13 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and ten partner countries including Russia.
Upon his arrival, Vladimir Putin went to the imposing Emirati presidential palace to meet with his counterpart Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
He was given a welcome with honors: dozens of armed soldiers awaited him at the palace, while an air patrol crossed the sky emitting smoke bombs in the colors of the Russian flag and cannon shots were fired from proximity, according to images released by the Kremlin.
With Mohammed ben Zayed al-Nahyan, Vladimir Putin plans to talk about trade, the Kremlin said. The Emirates are Moscow’s “main economic partner” in the Arab world, Mr. Putin’s press service stressed, and their cooperation “is increasing.” However, the program does not mention COP28, which is being held in Dubai.
Favorable context
Vladimir Putin will then travel to Saudi Arabia to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, before leaving again, according to the Kremlin.
The two leaders must discuss investments, but also “their cooperation in the energy sector”, guaranteeing a “stable and predictable situation” on the international market, believes the Kremlin.
In the Emirates as in Saudi Arabia, Vladimir Putin also planned to share his vision of the international situation, with the conflict between Israel and Hamas on the agenda, and “ways to promote de-escalation”, according to the Russian presidency.
Vladimir Putin, treated as a pariah by the West, was absent from the last major international meetings: the G20 summit in India in September and that of the BRICS in South Africa in August.
He explained that he avoided these meetings so as not to “cause problems” for the organizers.
In October, he was received in China by his counterpart, Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the New Silk Roads forum. A few days earlier, he had gone to Kyrgyzstan, another country very close to Moscow, for his first trip abroad since the arrest warrant was issued by the ICC.
But the Russian president sees an international context more favorable to his interests.
The long-awaited Ukrainian counter-offensive collapsed this summer against Russian defenses. As for the hitherto unconditional support of Westerners in Kyiv, it is showing signs of crumbling, thanks to political divisions, as the Kremlin hoped.
Inside Russia, oil revenues have recovered, all opposition to the Kremlin has been methodically muzzled and Vladimir Putin is preparing to launch the campaign for his re-election in March, which is hardly in doubt.