Putin, Saudi prince seek more efforts to end Mideast war

MOSCOW (AFP): Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called for intensifying political and diplomatic efforts to end the Middle East war during a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Facing isolation from the West after sending troops to Ukraine, Putin has sought to strengthen partnerships in the Middle East, maintaining close relations both with Iran and the Gulf monarchies.

“Both sides emphasised the need for a rapid cessation of hostilities and the intensification of political and diplomatic efforts to achieve a long-term settlement of the conflict,” the Kremlin said in a read-out of the call.

The call comes after Ukraine – fending off Russia’s full-scale assault since 2022 – signed an air defence deal with Saudi Arabia as the Gulf nation grapples with Iranian drone attacks.

Kyiv has sought to leverage its expertise in downing Russian drones to help Gulf nations which are being attacked with the same Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Russia fires on Ukraine.

Ukraine has proposed swapping its relatively cheap drone interceptors for the expensive air-defence missiles that the Gulf is using to down Iranian drones.

Putin and Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler also discussed “problems with energy production and transportation resulting from the crisis are negatively impacting global energy security.”

They stressed “the importance of joint work underway with Russia and Saudi Arabia in the “OPEC+” format to stabilise the global oil market.”

OPEC+ is made up of the 12 main OPEC members plus 10 other top crude oil producers who cooperate to regulate production and pricing.

Oil prices extended gains on Thursday in the wake of US President Donald Trump threatening further heavy strikes on Iran, dampening hopes of de-escalation.