(EDM) The “historic” trip of King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud to Moscow, last week (October 4–7) was an affair long on ceremony, featuring a massive delegation, but rather uncertain regarding the real results. The first ever royal visit (which had been rescheduled several times) was supposed to have great significance for relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia, at least in terms of removing mutual reservations against often incompatible political ends and paving the way for expanding economic ties. President Vladimir Putin organized the greeting in the Kremlin with all the proper pomp and fanfare, but was uncharacteristically laconic in his remarks (Kommersant, October 6). The king found it opportune to touch upon a wide range of topics, from Jerusalem and Yemen to the plight of the Rohingya in Myanmar; whereas, Putin only mentioned the “substantive and trust-based discussion,” which, given the depth of disagreements on Syria, was hardly the case (Kremlin.ru, October 5). […]
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