Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Tuesday that a Russia–Arab League summit will be held later this year, amid unprecedented tensions with the West sparked by the war in Ukraine.
Since launching its large-scale offensive against Ukraine in 2022 and facing sweeping Western sanctions that have heavily impacted its economy, Russia has pivoted sharply toward its Asian, African, and Arab partners.
“We are considering organizing a Russia–Arab countries summit this year,” said Putin while receiving Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik al Said at the Kremlin.
“Many of our friends in the Arab world support this idea,” the Russian president added, inviting the Sultan of Oman to the summit, for which no date or location has yet been announced.
This first-ever meeting between the Russian and Omani heads of state, according to the Kremlin, comes just days after the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, visited Russia.
While Oman has served as a mediator in the Iran nuclear file during discussions between the United States and Iran—one of Moscow’s key allies in the region—Putin and Haitham bin Tarik did not publicly address the issue. Instead, they chose to highlight bilateral economic cooperation at the start of their meeting, which was preceded by a formal ceremony at the Kremlin.
“There is already an opportunity to strengthen our relations in the fields of logistics and transportation, mutual investments, and agriculture,” said Putin.
“And of course, we hope that further steps will be taken in the energy sector,” he added, noting that Russian companies “are showing great interest” in this cooperation.
For his part, the Sultan of Oman, who said he had met with Russian businesspeople earlier in the day, affirmed his country’s “interest” in enhancing these bilateral ties.
“There are many areas where we can cooperate,” he said, according to remarks translated into Russian, citing in particular “energy, agriculture, and trade.”
With AFP
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