Nothing can prevent friendly Russia-Saudi ties: Putin

KABUL (Pajhwok): Russian President Vladimir Putin has said ‘nothing can prevent the development of our friendly relations with Riyadh”.

He made the remarks in a rare and hastily arranged meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday.

Putin's meeting with the Saudi crown prince, known as MBS, came after oil prices fell despite a pledge by OPEC+ (The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and allies led by Russia, to further cut output.

"We talked again about cooperation in OPEC+," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

"Our relations, largely due to your position, have reached an unprecedentedly high level," Putin told him. "The UAE is Russia's main trading partner in the Arab world."

He added: "Nothing can prevent the expansion of our friendly relations."

According to reports, Mohammad bin Salman also appreciated the joint coordination between Moscow and Riyadh in the field of de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East.

He also clarified that Riyadh and Moscow could cooperate with each other for the good of the whole world.

Putin's delegation included top oil, economy, foreign affairs, space and nuclear energy officials as well as business leaders.

Saudi Arabia and Russia are the world's two largest oil exporters, together controlling a fifth of the oil pumped each day.

kk/ma