Russia–Saudi Arabia relations
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Russia–Saudi Arabia relations (russian: Российско-саудовские отношения, ar, العلاقات السعودية الروسية) are the bilateral relations between
Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
. The two countries are referred to as the two petroleum superpowers and account for about a quarter of the world's
crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...
between them.


Saudi Arabia and the Soviet Union

The first country to establish full diplomatic relations with the
Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd The Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd ( ar, مملكة الحجاز ونجد, '), initially the Kingdom of Hejaz and Sultanate of Nejd (, '), was a dual monarchy ruled by Abdulaziz following the victory of the Saudi Sultanate of Nejd over the Hashemite ...
(the name of the Saudi state until 1932) was the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. The relations began in 1926 as a means for Moscow to stand up to the UK. The first Consul General was Karim Khakimov, a Soviet Muslim of
Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary
is an umbrella term for different
descent sometimes called the Soviet
Lawrence of Arabia Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...
, who in February 1926 drove through gunfire from Jeddah to
Ibn Saud Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud ( ar, عبد العزيز بن عبد الرحمن آل سعود, ʿAbd al ʿAzīz bin ʿAbd ar Raḥman Āl Suʿūd; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted ...
's residence in the desert to hand over a formal note recognising his status as king. Relations improved further when in June 1926 the Pan-Islamic Congress of Mecca was called to resolve the dispute over control of the holy sites of Mecca and Medina. The Soviet Union, with its 30 million Soviet Muslims, supported Ibn Saud by sending six Soviet Islamic scholars to take part in the congress, contrary to its atheistic ideology. Using the Soviet influence to spread
Communist propaganda Communist propaganda is the artistic and social promotion of the ideology of communism, communist worldview, communist society, and interests of the communist movement. While it tends to carry a negative connotation in the Western world, the t ...
among Hajj pilgrims was unsuccessful so the diplomatic focus turned to the creation of trade links between Soviet
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
ports and
Hejaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...
. Ibn Saud's son Prince Faisal (who became king in 1964) visited the Soviet Union in 1932 during his extensive European trip. King Abdulaziz used Moscow's offer of one million British pounds in financial aid as leverage with London and never accepted the USSR's offer. However, relations cooled later on; in 1932, the Soviet Muslims were unofficially banned from performing Hajj. Khakimov returned to Jeddah as the Head of Mission in 1935, and tried to renew the relationship, but Moscow was no longer interested in new trade contracts.
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
, who was never convinced of the value of the USSR's presence in the Gulf, saw the partnership with King Abdulaziz and political ambitions for the Gulf as disposable political gambits that Moscow thought would enhance relations with England, whose support the Soviet Union sought against
Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
. Khakimov was recalled to Moscow for a routine visit in 1937 and arrested on suspicion of being a spy; he and his colleague Turyakulov fell victim to Stalin's political terror. Turyakulov was executed in October 1937 and Khakimov the following January. King Abdulaziz was outraged at the killing of these two Soviet diplomats whom he considered his friends. Two months after Khakimov's execution American geologists discovered the world's largest deposits of crude oil in
Dhahran Dhahran ( ar, الظهران, ''Al-Dhahran'') is a city located in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. With a total population of 240,742 as of 2021, it is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Together with the nearby cit ...
prompting the Soviet Union to appoint a new head of mission in Jeddah in 1938. King Abdulaziz refused to accept anyone other than Khakimov or Turyakulov and months later broke diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union, accusing Moscow of inciting a revolution in the Muslim world. With the USSR out of the way, Britain and latterly the US took over the development and exploitation of Saudi oil. Relations were especially strained from 1979, during the
Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...
, with Saudi Arabia supporting the Afghan Mujahideen in close cooperation with the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Diplomatic relations were only reestablished in 1992, after the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
and the establishment of the
Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. Despite a lack of relations, about 20 Soviet Muslims were allowed to annually make the
Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
from 1946 until 1990 when liberalization allowed thousands of Soviet Muslims to attend.


Saudi Arabia and Russia

In the 25 years since establishment in 1992, Russian-Saudi relations never developed beyond symbolic visits. Though during Saudi
King Salman Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, سلمان بن عبد العزیز آل سعود, , ; born 31 December 1935) is King of Saudi Arabia, reigning since 2015, and served as Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2022. The 25th son of King ...
2017 visit to Moscow, he did bring a 1,500-strong delegation; however, the Moscow-Riyadh agreement paled in comparison to Saudi arms contracts with the US.
Russian President The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
met King Abdullah in
Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
during a high level delegation visit on 11–12 February 2007. It was the first official visit for a Russian leader to the Kingdom. The visit was an opportunity for Moscow to improve its relations with Riyadh regarding various areas, including regional security issues, energy, trade, transportation, scientific cooperation and exchanges. King Abdullah's visit to Russia in 2003, as Crown Prince, was an opening in high level contacts between the countries which did not have diplomatic ties from 1938 until 1990.


Syrian Civil War, military cooperation

Relations between the two countries became strained during the Syrian Civil War, in which Russia and its ally Iran put their support behind Syria's government and President
Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...
while Saudi Arabia along with Qatar and Turkey-backed insurgents in Syria. Saudi Arabia, prior to Russia's direct military intervention in Syria in September 2015, was reported to have sought to use its offer to reduce its oil production in exchange for Russia dropping its support for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, a proposal that Russia rejected.Saudi Oil Is Seen as Lever to Pry Russian Support From Syria’s Assad
NYT, 3 February 2015.
In February 2016, Saudi Arabia offered for the first time to send ground troops to Syria; a Saudi official confirmed that Riyadh had sent warplanes to
Incirlik Air Base Incirlik Air Base ( tr, İncirlik Hava Üssü) is a Turkish air base of slightly more than 3320 ac (1335 ha), located in the İncirlik quarter of the city of Adana, Turkey. The base is within an urban area of 1.7 million people, east of t ...
in
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, a move considered as preparation for an incursion into Syria and seen as inimical to Russia's as well as Iran's interests. Russia reacted to the reports with public sarcasm alluding to the Saudi Arabian-led
military intervention Interventionism refers to a political practice of intervention, particularly to the practice of governments to interfere in political affairs of other countries, staging military or trade interventions. Economic interventionism refers to a diffe ...
in
Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
. Relations improved significantly in 2017 as Russia's influence in the Middle East rose following military success in Syria as a result of its intervention in the Syrian conflict on the side of the
Bashar Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the S ...
government, on whose removal from power Saudi Arabia had insisted prior. Military issues were among the topics of discussions held by Vladimir Putin and Saudi
defence minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
deputy crown prince
Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن سلمان آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Salmān Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. H ...
in Moscow on 30 May 2016. Russia and Saudi Arabia have taken similar approaches to North Africa, strongly supporting the military rule of
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi; (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has served as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. Before retiring as a general in the Egyptian mil ...
in Egypt following the
2013 Egyptian coup d'état The 2013 Egyptian coup d'etat took place on 3 July 2013. Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led a coalition to remove the democratically elected President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, from power and suspended the Egyptian constitut ...
. Similarly, both Russia and Saudi Arabia have supported
Khalifa Haftar Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar ( ar, خليفة بلقاسم حفتر, Ḵalīfa Bilqāsim Ḥaftar; born 7 November 1943) is a Libyan-American politician, military officer, and the commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LNA) ...
and the
Libyan National Army The Libyan National Army (LNA; ar, الجيش الوطني الليبي, ''al-jaysh al-waṭaniyy al-Lībii'') is a component of Libya's military forces which were nominally a unified national force under the command of Field Marshal Khalifa Ha ...
in the
Second Libyan Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Second Libyan Civil War , partof = the Arab Winter, Libyan Crisis (2011–present), Libyan Crisis, Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict, War on terror, and Qatar–Saudi Arabia diplomat ...
. In January 2020, ''
Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'' reported that Saudi Arabia was helping finance the activities of the
Wagner Group The Wagner Group (russian: Группа Вагнера, Gruppa Vagnera), also known as PMC Wagner ( «Вагнер», ChVK «Vagner»; ), is a Russian paramilitary organization. It is variously described as a private military company (PMC), a ...
, a Russian paramilitary organization, in supporting Haftar in Libya.


Coordination on oil markets (2016–2022)

In early September 2016, following a meeting between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Saudi deputy crown prince
Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن سلمان آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Salmān Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. H ...
on the sidelines of the
G20 summit The following list of G20 summits summarizes all G20 conferences held at various different levels: summits of heads of state or heads of government, ministerial-level meetings, Engagement Group meetings and others. Summits of state leaders ...
, Saudi Arabia, a leading
OPEC The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, ) is a cartel of countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been headquart ...
member, and non-OPEC Russia agreed to cooperate in world oil markets to tackle a global glut, saying they could limit output in the future and signing a joint statement to this effect. Later that year, Russia agreed to join OPEC nations′ commitment to reduce oil output, with cuts taking effect from 1 January 2017 to last for six months; Russian president Vladimir Putin and Saudi deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, along with Iran's supreme leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei ( fa, سید علی حسینی خامنه‌ای, ; born 19 April 1939) is a Twelver Shia '' marja and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously the third president ...
, were said to have played a key role in having OPEC rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia set aside differences to make the organization's first deal with non-OPEC Russia in 15 years possible. In April 2017, deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman told ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' that the Saudis had been “coordinating
heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
oil policies recently” with Moscow in order to convince Russia that Riyadh was a better bet for them than
Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, the main goal being ″not to have Russia place all its cards in the region behind Iran″. In May 2017, the two countries agreed to extend the oil production cuts until March 2018. On 5 March 2020, OPEC cut its total production of oil, and called upon OPEC+ participants, including Russia, to do the same. Russia rejected the demand to cut oil production the following day, marking the end of the unofficial partnership with OPEC. Russia was also described as having been disappointed in the lack of Saudi investment in Russia during the past few years. Saudi Arabia consequently boosted production to increase its market share, leading to an oil price war between the countries. On March 20, 2020, the Kremlin stated that in terms of oil, Saudi Arabia and Russia enjoy good relations, and that the Russian government does not want any other party to intervene in this relation. The relations between Russia and
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
further evolved under Saudi Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن سلمان آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Salmān Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. H ...
, granting the two nations the ability to "conspire" in oil export decisions. Russia is currently a major exporter of refined fuels to the Saudis and other Middle Eastern countries. Subsequent to the
2022 Russian invasion of the Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, Saudi Arabia intensified investments in Russian energy companies. Saudi Arabia and Russia lead the
OPEC+ The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, ) is a cartel of countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been headquart ...
group.


Other events

During 2017, Saudi Arabia encouraged the United States to remove sanctions on Russia pertaining to its activity in Ukraine in exchange for Russian assistance in ending the Iranian military presence in Syria. Russia has remained neutral between Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the
Qatar diplomatic crisis The Qatar diplomatic crisis was a diplomatic incident in the Middle East that began on 5 June 2017 when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Qatar and banned Qatar-registered planes and ships ...
, offering to mediate in July 2017. In December 2017, Russia withdrew diplomatic representation from the
Houthi The Houthi movement (; ar, ٱلْحُوثِيُّون ''al-Ḥūthīyūn'' ), officially called Ansar Allah (' ''Partisans of God'' or ''Supporters of God'') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement that ...
-held Yemeni capital
Sana'a Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Governo ...
, in opposition to the killing of former Yemeni President
Ali Abdullah Saleh Ali Abdullah Saleh al-Ahmar (, ''ʿAlī ʿAbdullāh Ṣāliḥ al-Aḥmar;'' 21 March 1947There is a dispute as to Saleh's date of birth, some saying that it was on 21 March 1942. See: However, by Saleh's own confession, he was born in 1947 al ...
by the Houthis. The killing took place as a consequence of his defection from the Houthi-dominated
Supreme Political Council The Supreme Political Council (SPC; ar, المجلس السياسي الأعلى ''al-Majlis as-Siyāsiyy al-ʾAʿlā'') is a largely unrecognised executive body formed by the Houthi movement and the General People's Congress (GPC) to rule Ye ...
to the Saudi coalition in the
Yemeni Civil War Yemeni Civil War may refer to several historical events which have taken place in Yemen: *Alwaziri coup, February – March 1948 *Yemeni–Adenese clan violence, 1956–60 *North Yemen Civil War, 1962–70 *Aden Emergency, 1963–67 *South Yemen#Di ...
. From December 2017 onward, Saudi Arabia abandoned its past support for UN resolutions condemning the Russian military intervention in Ukraine, instead choosing to abstain. In August 2018, Russia backed Saudi Arabia in its dispute with Canada, with Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman
Maria Zakharova Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova (russian: Мария Владимировна Захарова; born 24 December 1975) is the Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (Spokesw ...
stating that "the politicization of human rights matters is unacceptable". In the aftermath of the
assassination of Jamal Khashoggi On 2 October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident journalist was assassinated by agents of the Saudi government at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Khashoggi was ambushed and strangled by a 15-member squad of Saudi assassins. His body ...
in October 2018, Putin stated that Russia "cannot start deteriorating relations" with Saudi Arabia as "it did not know what really happened." His press secretary,
Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov ( rus, Дмитрий Сергеевич Песков, p=pʲɪˈskof; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat and the press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin.Mikhail Bogdanov warned the United States against interference in the line of succession to the Saudi throne by pushing for the ouster of Crown Prince
Mohammad bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن سلمان آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Salmān Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. H ...
(MBS), following reports that U.S. officials would support replacing him with
Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, احمد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Aḥmed bin ʿAbdulʿazīz Āl Suʿūd''; born 5 September 1942) is a member of House of Saud who served as deputy minister of interior from 1975 to 2012 and bri ...
. Bogdanov stated that "the King made a decision and I can't even imagine on what grounds someone in America will interfere in such an issue and think about who should rule Saudi Arabia, now or in the future." In October 2021, Russia voted against a Dutch resolution in the
UN Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...
that proposed extending the mandate of the Group of Eminent Experts (GEE) human rights investigators in Yemen. This resolution had been heavily lobbied against by Saudi Arabia. In February 2022, the gas prices soared to their highest level in more than seven years. While the conflict in Ukraine was being considered the major reason behind the spiking gas prices, it was also due to the thriving relations between Saudi and Russia as the leaders of OPEC+. Meanwhile, the relations between MBS and Joe Biden soured, as Biden refused to meet with MBS due to his alleged complicity in the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. In January 2022, the Saudi king also refused Joe Biden's plea to increase oil production, which indirectly profited Russia. On 6 March 2022, six Russian defense companies sanctioned by the United States and Britain reportedly exhibited weapons at the World Defense Show held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The arms fair featured Russian companies like Rosoboronexport, which is sanctioned by the United States along with Britain sanctioned UralVagonZavod and state-funded manufacturing firm, Rostec. A source close to the British defense industry cited concerns regarding the presence of Russian firms at the arms fair in Riyadh, considering the siege of Ukraine. The event was organized and run by the state-backed General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), responsible for the regulation of defense firms within the country. Defense analysts expected a sharp increase in the sale of arms at the fair following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. On 13 July 2022, the Kremlin expressed hope that a visit by President Biden in
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
to boost
OPEC The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, ) is a cartel of countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been headquart ...
oil production would not foster anti-Russian sentiments there. Russia is the largest oil and gas exporter after Saudi Arabia and enjoys a highly valued cooperation with the Arab country in the framework of the OPEC+ group. Russia blames
international sanctions International sanctions are political and economic decisions that are part of diplomatic efforts by countries, multilateral or regional organizations against states or organizations either to protect national security interests, or to protect in ...
for higher energy prices around the world.


Saudi state visit to Russia (October 2017)

On 4 October 2017, a three-day visit of King of Saudi Arabia
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, سلمان بن عبد العزیز آل سعود, , ; born 31 December 1935) is King of Saudi Arabia, reigning since 2015, and served as Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2022. The 25th son of King ...
to Russia began, the first official trip to Russia (or the USSR) by a reigning Saudi monarch. The planned visit had been hailed by media as an unexpected rapprochement between the two foes, and by Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry — as "historic".Saudi king to make historic visit to Russia
The National, 30 September 2017.

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
, 4 October 2017.
The sheer fact of the King's visit was interpreted by American media as suggesting that the Saudi government, a close ally of the United States for more than 70 years, was pursuing a more independent role in the U.S.-Russian geopolitical rivalry. On the first day of negotiations, a package of bilateral documents was signed that ranged from oil, military and space exploration. The weapons deals worth three billion dollars to be finalised at the end of October 2017, in line with Saudi Arabia's bid to localise arms manufacturing, envisaged the possibility of transfer of technology for the local production of Russian
Kornet-EM The 9M133M Kornet-M (also known by the export designation 9M133 Kornet-EM) Russian anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) is an improved version of the 9M133 Kornet ATGM, with increased range and an improved warhead. Kornet-EM missiles are chiefly used ...
anti-tank missiles, TOS-1A rocket launchers and AGS-30 automatic grenade launchers, the latest version of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, and long-range
S-400 missile system The S-400 Triumf (russian: link=no, C-400 Триумф – Triumf; translation: Triumph; NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler), previously known as the S-300 PMU-3, is a mobile, surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed in the 1990s by Russ ...
. Saudi Arabia agreed to invest one billion dollars in Russian energy projects, and Russian gas processing and petrochemicals company
Sibur SIBUR (PJSC SIBUR Holding) is a Russian petrochemicals company founded in 1995 and headquartered in Moscow. SIBUR is the largest integrated petrochemicals company in Russia and one of the fastest-growing companies in the global petrochemicals ...
committed to build a plant in Saudi Arabia in a separate 1.1 bln agreement. Regarding an oil output cut deal extension to the end of 2018 that had been floated as a possibility by Vladimir Putin a day prior to the talks with the King, after the talks the Kremlin stressed that Vladimir Putin had not proposed the extension but allowed it as a possibility, subject to market conditions. Russian media and experts made much of the Saudi foreign minister's remark about prospects of the Russia sanctions being lifted but also cautioned that real cooperation between the counties had yet to materialise. It was reported that during the King Salman's visit Russia had made a request that Saudi Arabia participate in the rebuilding of Syria when hostilities were over.


Coalition against Turkey

Deterioration in relations between Saudi Arabia and Turkey as well as Russia's long skepticism and distrust toward Ankara, especially since
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...
openly supported Turkish expansionism resulted in growing relationship between Riyadh and Moscow. Russia and Saudi Arabia have together backed
Khalifa Haftar Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar ( ar, خليفة بلقاسم حفتر, Ḵalīfa Bilqāsim Ḥaftar; born 7 November 1943) is a Libyan-American politician, military officer, and the commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LNA) ...
's forces,
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
, in Libya against Turkey-backed
Government of National Accord The Government of National Accord ( ar, حكومة الوفاق الوطني) was an interim government for Libya that was formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement, a United Nations–led initiative, signed on 17 December 2015. Th ...
; and Saudi Arabia also backed Russian intervention in Syria for the first time. In September 2020, during the
2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of ...
, after the Turkish leader blamed Saudi Arabia for the conflict, Saudi Arabian TV channel
Al Arabiya Arabiya ( ar, العربية, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is an international Arabic news television channel, currently based in Dubai, that is operated by the media conglomerate MBC. The channel is a flag ...
had broadcast the speech of Armenian President
Armen Sargsyan Armen Vardani Sarkissian ( hy, Արմեն Վարդանի Սարգսյան; also written as Sarksyan and Sargsyan) (born 23 June 1952) is an Armenian politician, physicist and computer scientist who served as the 4th president of Armenia from 9 A ...
accusing Turkey and Azerbaijan of inflaming the conflict, the first time the channel had ever made an interview with an Armenian leader despite Saudi Arabia has no official relations with Armenia, signaling that Saudi Arabia is backing Armenia against Turkey. Armenia is also a Russian ally and Turkey's arch-foe.


See also

*
Foreign relations of Russia The foreign relations of the Russian Federation is the policy arm of the Russian government, government of Russia which guides its interactions with other nations, their citizens, and foreign organizations. This article covers the foreign polic ...
*
Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia are the diplomatic and trade relations between Saudi Arabia and other countries around the world. The foreign policy of Saudi Arabia is focused on co-operation with the oil-exporting Gulf States, the unity o ...
*
Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Moscow The Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Moscow () is the diplomatic mission of Saudi Arabia in the Russian Federation. It is located at 3 Neopalimovsky Lane Street (russian: 3-й Неопалимовский пер., 3) in the Khamovniki Dis ...
* List of ambassadors of Saudi Arabia to Russia * List of Ambassadors of Russia to Saudi Arabia


References


External links

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Documents on the Russia – Saudi Arabia relationship at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs


Diplomatic missions

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Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in The Russian Federation
*
Consulate-General of Russia in Jeddah
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russia-Saudi Arabia relations
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
Bilateral relations of Saudi Arabia Energy policy of Russia Energy in Saudi Arabia