- Sputnik International
Russia
The latest news and stories from Russia. Stay tuned for updates and breaking news on defense, politics, economy and more.

Putin goes on historic visit to Saudi Arabia

Subscribe
President of Russia Vladimir Putin is beginning Sunday his visit to Saudi Arabia, the first trip by a Russian leader to the kingdom, to discuss energy projects and the situation in the Middle East.
MOSCOW, February 11 (RIA Novosti) - President of Russia Vladimir Putin is beginning Sunday his visit to Saudi Arabia, the first trip by a Russian leader to the kingdom, to discuss energy projects and the situation in the Middle East.

Diplomatic contacts between the two countries, severed in the 1930s, were restored only in 1990 but remained fairly inactive. In September 2003, the current Saudi King Abdullah, then Crown Prince, paid a visit to Russia, which marked a revival of bilateral ties.

Putin is expected to meet with King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan, representatives of Russian and Saudi business circles and sign some documents aimed at deepening trade and economic, banking, cultural and information cooperation with the kingdom.

Russia, home to 20 million Muslims, has recently taken a course toward rapprochement with the Islamic world, and was granted observer status in the 57-nation Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC) in December 2005.

Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, which has substantial clout in Islamic countries, is significant considering that both nations are the world's two leading oil producers.

In January 2004, Russia's top private crude producer Lukoil won a tender to develop the 29,000-square-mile (11,200-square-mile) Block A natural gas field in the Rub el Hali desert in Saudi Arabia. Lukoil signed a 40-year contract with the Saudi government to explore and develop the natural gas deposit. Russia's energy giant Gazprom is also showing interest in energy projects in the country.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала