Putin talks with Saudi Arabia's King Salman during a meeting in Riyadh on 15 October
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,
Also in this section
13 April 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis highlights sharp shift from crude oversupply to market deficit, with Iraq and Kuwait badly affected and key producers Saudi Arabia and the UAE also seeing output sharply lower
13 April 2026
Turkmenistan is moving ahead with a modest expansion of the giant Galkynysh field to sustain gas deliveries abroad, but persistent delays to other key pipeline projects and geopolitical risks continue to constrain its export ambitions
13 April 2026
Expensive electricity has forced out swathes of energy-intensive industry and now threatens the country’s ability to attract future investment in datacentres and the digital economy
13 April 2026
For GCC producers, the ceasefire may prove more destabilising than the war itself: exports remain constrained, and control over Hormuz has shifted in ways that could endure
