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An oil rig in the North Sea
Saudi Aramco Saudi Arabia Vladimir Putin
Gerald Butt
Riyadh
10 January 2020
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Saudi Arabia’s bear hug

The kingdom is strengthening its ties with Russia as it nervously watches US political developments

Russian president Vladimir Putin was afforded the sort of red-carpet welcome in Riyadh on his October visit to Saudi Arabia that was once reserved for US heads of state. This was deliberate. Both sides wanted the occasion to symbolise the start of a relationship that far exceeds cooperation in the management of global oil prices.   Putin arrived in the kingdom at a moment when the current US administration’s strategy—if the term can even be justified in this case—in the Middle East seemed more inexplicable than ever, as President Trump gave mixed messages to Turkey about the fate of Syrian Kurds. With the US having disappointed the Saudi leadership in failing to respond to the Abqaiq attacks

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