Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets Russian President Vladimir
Putin before a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia December 6, 2023. [photo
credit: Sputnik/Kremlin]
On meeting MbS the president teased him
about having their next get-together in Moscow after the crown prince,
according to Putin, had pulled out at the last minute from heading to
the Kremlin: "I know that events forced a correction to those plans but
as I have already said nothing can prevent the development of our
friendly relation.” All smiles, he added “but the next meeting should be
in Moscow."
According to a joint press release MbS and Putin discussed a fair
amount of business: the Gaza war, Ukraine, Yemen and further defence
cooperation. But the big ticket item for the world’s two largest oil
exporters was the need for OPEC+ to submit to accepting the voluntary production cuts announced at the cartel’s meeting 30 November. That was in response to the slide in oil prices now hovering at US$75 a barrel, down from a 2023 high of US$90 a barrel in late September.
While the economies of both countries are faring reasonably well -
particularly satisfying for Putin who with the help of his Gulf friends
is well on the road to seeing off
the US-led sanctions regime – anxiety about China’s economic woes and
its impact on oil prices remains a concern for Riyadh and Moscow. (For
more on the China factor give a listen to Alastair Newton’s 4 October podcast.)
In their joint statement released by the Kremlin in Russian and
English the Saudis and Russians celebrated their “close cooperation” and
were clear about their expectations that OPEC+ members “enhance the
stability of global oil markets.”
As noted by Reuters:
‘They stressed the importance of continuing this cooperation, and
the need for all participating countries to join to the OPEC+
agreement, in a way that serves the interests of producers and consumers
and supports the growth of the global economy.’
Reuters pointed out without further comment that "the Russian version
used the word ‘join’ while an English translation of the statement,
also released by the Kremlin, used the word ‘adhere’ to the OPEC+
agreement." The latter does strike one as prescriptive rather than
voluntary, a point that MbS and Putin seemed keen to underline.
Joe Biden, if recent polls
have got it right, is already facing an uphill battle for re-election
against the increasingly inevitable challenge of an emboldened Donald
Trump. Now, Biden will be looking at two Gulf friends and allies who
have just said loudly and clearly ‘Heh Joe we are dancing on both sides
of the street.’ That should be of concern to the Democrats. Meantime,
Biden’s Republican foes will rejoice in seeing the Putin quick trip as
further evidence of the impotence of an aged president who, apparently,
can keep neither friends nor foes in line.