Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Saudi Arabia on Monday with the Kremlin stressing the "great importance" Moscow attaches to this event. Putin will hold talks on energy issues and tensions in the Middle East, exacerbated by a recent attack on Saudi oil infrastructure blamed by the Kingdom on Iran, the Kremlin said. The planned visit is the first by Putin since 2007 and will include a meeting with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman as well as the Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense. He said he had "very friendly personal relations" with Crown Prince Muhammad, who has won praise for plans to wean the economy off oil and open up society. The "long-awaited" visit will include discussions on "further cooperation to stabilize prices on the world carbohydrate market" as well as the situation in Syria, the Arabian Gulf and Yemen. Putin will continue on to the United Arab Emirates Tuesday to meet Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Emirati businessmen. Putin praised Saudi-Russian relations and condemned the Saudi Aramco attacks in a wide-ranging interview with Al Arabiya broadcast on Sunday ahead of his visit to the Kingdom. "We consider Saudi Arabia a friendly nation. I have very good relations with both the King and the Crown Prince," Putin told Al Arabiya. "We have been making good headway practically in all fields," he added, referring to progress in Saudi-Russian ties and joint economic projects. Putin also condemned the attacks on Saudi Aramco oil facilities and suggested that seizing tankers and attacking oil infrastructure would not undermine positive Saudi-Russian relations. "If anyone thinks that seizing tankers and attacking oil infrastructure can in any way affect cooperation between Russia and our Arab friends, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, that they can undermine or break down our cooperation with OPEC+, then they are profoundly wrong," said Putin, addressing a question on regional security. "On the contrary, we will forge ever closer ties because our main goal is to stabilize global energy markets," he added, saying that Russia remained committed to the initiatives of the OPEC+ group of oil producers driven by Saudi Crown Prince. Putin described his visit to the Kingdom as the return trip to King Salman's "historic" visit to Moscow in 2017 and praised the upward trajectory of Saudi-Russian relations, citing a number of joint economic projects under development. "Our Direct Investment Fund and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia have jointly established a $10 billion platform. About $2 billion have already been invested. Work is under way on other projects, and some promising and interesting projects have already been implemented." Putin also said that Sibur Holding, Russia's largest petrochemicals company, was exploring the possibility of building a petrochemical facility in Saudi Arabia with investments of more than $1 billion. Putin went on to praise bilateral relations in defense and military cooperation, as well as regional cooperation. "We are fostering a partnership in the trust-based, sensitive area of military and defense cooperation," said Putin. "I am confident that my visit will help to build up the momentum both in developing bilateral relations and enhancing cooperation in international organizations," he added. Putin condemned the attacks on Saudi Aramco facilities in September. "We condemn any such actions, end of story. This is the official position ... regardless of who stood behind the incident," said Putin. However, he reiterated that Russia would not point the finger at any one nation, despite the international community widely blaming Iran for the attacks. Putin also said that he had discussed the incident with Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, and Moscow was "ready to share anything that might be necessary, everything we have for a thorough investigation." Putin added to Al Arabiya that the attacks had only a minimal impact on the price of oil. "If someone may have wanted to deal a blow to the oil market, they failed. There were indeed some fluctuations in prices, but I do not think it was anything too serious, even though the initial response was quite strong," said Putin. "We need to respond to any attempt to destabilize the market. Russia will certainly continue working with Saudi Arabia and other partners and friends in the Arab world to counter any attempts to wreak havoc in the market," he added. Putin also praised Saudi Arabia's role in formulating a political settlement in Syria. "I would like to emphasize the positive role Saudi Arabia has played in resolving the Syrian crisis ... without Saudi Arabia's contribution towards a Syrian settlement, it would have been impossible to achieve a positive trend," said Putin, who thanked King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman for their "constructive approach." Earlier, the Russian president's foreign policy assistant Yuri Ushakov revealed that about 30 documents, including trade agreements, were being finalized for signing during Putin's visit to the Kingdom. Ushakov said that Putin would discuss with the King Salman issues of cooperation between the two countries in various fields, and the prospects of collaboration in energy, agriculture, industry, military-technical cooperation, and cultural and humanitarian exchange. He added that the Kremlin was looking forward to "exchanging views on pressing international issues with a focus on the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly in Syria, the Gulf and Yemen, and the settlement of the Palestinian issue." — Agencies/ Al-Arabiya English
