Putin landed on Wednesday in UAE, which is currently hosting the COP28 Climate Summit. Upon arrival, Putin was escorted to the presidential palace where he was greeted with a 21-gun salute and a flyby of military jets showing the colours of the Russian flags.

UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan stated that he and the Russian leader discussed “the importance of strengthening dialogue and cooperation to ensure stability and progress”.

After he visited the UAE, Putin jetted off to Saudi Arabia where he met with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohamed bin Salman. MBS and Putin met face-to-face for the first time since their last meeting in October 2019.

As per Russian media, Putin thanked MBS for the invitation to visit Saudi and stated that the next meeting between the leaders should be in Moscow.

Putin's meeting with Saudi's crown prince comes after a sharp decline in oil prices due to the ongoing Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars. Despite limited information, the meeting between the Saudi and Russian leader appeared to be successful as a friendly handshake between them went viral on social media.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made limited appearances or skipped key global events such as the BRICS Summit in SOuth Africa and the G20 Summit in India due to an arrest warrant against him issued by the International Criminal Court.

In 2023, Putin has visited three countries - China, UAE and Saudi Arabia. These three countries have not signed ICC's founding treaty and hence are not obligated to hand the President over if he enters the territories.