Putin reaches Saudi Arabia to act as peacemaker after oil attacks

Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in Saudi Arabia, on October 14, after he offered to mediate between Saudi Arabia and Iran amidst escalating tensions. Putin, in an interview with Arab media, had lauded his ties with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While many countries, including the UK, France, Russia, and the US blamed Iran for the attacks on Saudi oil facilities, Putin has been treading cautiously and never directly held Iran responsible for it. 

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In an apparent remark on attacks on Saudi oil facilities, Putin had emphasized that such actions will not affect the cooperation between Russia, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. He said that anyone who thinks that it will undermine Russia’s cooperation with OPEC plus is “profoundly wrong”. Putin stressed the need for dialogue among countries to iron out their differences. He said that in the case of bilateral issues, it is up to those countries to resolve.

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Iran ready to hold talks

Meanwhile, Iran announced that they are ready to hold talks with Saudi Arabia, with or without mediation. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said that they are ready for talks with Saudi Arabia but on a condition that Riyadh stops ‘killing people’. The United States has planned to deploy more forces in Saudi Arabia to heighten security in the aftermath of drone attacks on oil facilities. “Saudi Arabia is a longstanding security partner in the Middle East and has asked for additional support to supplement their own defence and defend the international rules-based order,” US Defense Secretary Mark Esper had said.

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Support for the nuclear deal

France, Germany, and the UK had blamed Iran for the attacks after they had reaffirmed their support for the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. “We recall our continued commitment to the JCPoA, agreed with Iran on July 14th, 2015 and unanimously endorsed by the UN Security Council,” the joint statement read. But the countries urged Iran to reverse its decision to reduce compliance with the deal and asked Iran to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the framework of the deal.

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(With Inputs from Agencies)