Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) on 27 October, and described him as “a young, determined man of character,” adding that he deserved “respect” for seeking a balanced position in the oil market in line with his country’s national interests,
Reuters reported.
During the Valdai discussion club, Putin affirmed that Saudi Arabia is a rapidly developing country: “This is also due to the fact that the Crown Prince, the government of Saudi Arabia has very big plans for diversifying the economy, which is very important. They have entire national development plans designed for this goal.”
He underlined the importance of boosting ties with Saudi Arabia and developing relations with this country both bilaterally and on multilateral platforms.
He also expressed his support for Saudi Arabia joining the BRICS group which is formed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Meanwhile, the US has criticized the Saudi Kingdom and the OPEC+ oil alliance for agreeing to a cut in oil production, a move seen as a boost to Russia’s attempts to protect its economy from Western sanctions.
On 26 October, The communications coordinator at the US National Security Council, John Kirby, fired back at
comments made by the Saudi energy minister this week, describing ties between Washington and the kingdom as more than just a “high school romance.”
“I obviously refute that, of course,” said Kirby, in response to Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman saying that the kingdom proved to be the “maturer guys” in the
ongoing spat with the US.
“You know, it’s not like some high school romance here. We’re talking about a significant, important bilateral relationship. A partnership that has
survived over 80 years – an important partnership, a strategic partnership,” Kirby added.
Riyadh and
Washington have been at each other’s throats over recent weeks since the announcement of an oil production cut of two million barrels per day (bpd) by the
OPEC+ bloc of countries.
In the wake of this move – taken despite
intense lobbying by US officials – the White House accused the kingdom of “aligning with
Russia” and of “
coercing” other Gulf states into approving the cut, which was a blow to President Joe Biden ahead of midterm elections.