Putin, Saudi prince seek more efforts to end Middle east war

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Russian President Vladimir Putin Photo by Vyacheslav OSELEDKO / AFP.

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.”

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

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

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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.

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