Putin to Visit Saudi Arabia and UAE, Host of COP28 Climate Talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, coinciding with Dubai hosting the United Nations’ COP28 climate talks despite facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the war in Ukraine.

Despite the ICC warrant, neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE has signed the ICC founding treaty, absolving them of any obligation to detain Putin in connection with the accusations of his personal responsibility for abducting children from Ukraine during the conflict.

The visit occurs against the backdrop of armed U.N. police patrolling a section of Dubai’s Expo City, now considered international territory for the climate talks.

This situation underscores the extensive business ties between the Emirates and Russia, which have expanded amidst ongoing Western sanctions against Moscow.

A preliminary report on Putin’s trip by the state-run Tass news agency, published early Wednesday, did not indicate whether Putin would attend the COP28 site, Instead, it quoted Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov, as saying that Putin would land and have a “meeting at the palace” with one-on-one talks scheduled with Emirati leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Putin’s visit follows COP28 hosting Western leaders, including U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and others supporting Ukraine. Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, a longstanding ally of Putin, also addressed the summit.