The first country to establish full diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd (the name of the Saudi state until 1932) was the Soviet Union.[1][2] The relations began in 1926.[3]
However, relations cooled later on, with Saudi Arabia closing their legation in Moscow in 1938 and refusing to reestablish relations. Diplomatic relations were only reestablished after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the establishment of the Russian Federation.[4] Despite a lack of relations, about 20 Soviet Muslims were allowed to annually make the Hajj from 1946 until 1990 when liberalization allowed thousands of Soviet Muslims to attend.[5]
Relations were especially strained from 1979, during the Soviet war in Afghanistan, with Saudi Arabia supporting the Afghan jihadis in close cooperation with the United States.
Saudi Arabia and Russia
Governor Salman bin Abdulaziz with Vladimir Putin in 2007
Russian President Vladimir Putin met King Abdullah in Riyadh during a high level delegation visit on 11–12 February 2007.[6]
It was the first official visit for a Russian leader to the Kingdom.
The visit was an opportunity for Moscow to improve its relations with
Riyadh regarding various areas, including regional security issues,
energy, trade, transportation, scientific cooperation and exchanges.
King Abdullah's visit to Russia in 2003, as Crown Prince, was an opening
in high level contacts between the countries which did not have
diplomatic ties from 1938 until 1990.[7]
Syrian Civil War, military cooperation
Relations between the two countries became strained during the Syrian Civil War, in which Russia supports Syria′s president Bashar al-Assad while Saudi Arabia along with Qatar and Turkey supports the Syrian rebels.[8] Saudi Arabia, prior to Russia′s direct military intervention
in Syria in September 2015, was reported to have sought to use its
offer to reduce its oil production in exchange for Russia dropping its
support for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, a proposal that Russia
rejected.[9]
In February 2016, Saudi Arabia offered for the first time to send
ground troops to Syria; a Saudi official confirmed that Riyadh had sent
warplanes to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, a move considered as preparation for an incursion into Syria and seen as inimical to Russia′s as well as Iran′s interests.[10][11] Russia reacted to the reports with public sarcasm alluding to the Saudi Arabian-led military intervention in Yemen.[12]
Relations improved significantly in 2017 as Russia′s influence in the
Middle East rose following military success in Syria as a result of its
intervention in the Syrian conflict on the side of the Bashar Assad government, on whose removal from power Saudi Arabia had insisted prior.[13][14] Military issues were among the topics of discussions held by Vladimir Putin and Saudi defence minister deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in Moscow on 30 May 2016.[15][16]
Coordination on oil markets (2016–2017)
Russian president Vladimir Putin and minister of defense of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman meet on the sidelines of the 19th St Petersburg Economic Forum, 18 June 2015[17]
In early September 2016, following a meeting between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Saudi deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Saudi Arabia, a leading OPEC member, and non-OPEC Russia agreed to cooperate in world oil markets to tackle a global glut, saying they could limit output in the future and signing a joint statement to this effect.[18][19]
Later that year, Russia agreed to join OPEC nations′ commitment to
reduce oil output, with cuts taking effect from 1 January 2017 to last
for six months; Russian president Vladimir Putin and Saudi deputy crown
prince Mohammed bin Salman, along with Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
were said to have played a key role in having OPEC rivals Iran and
Saudi Arabia set aside differences to make the cartel’s first deal with
non-OPEC Russia in 15 years possible.[20][21][22] In April 2017, deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman told The Washington Post
that the Saudis had been “coordinating [their] oil policies recently”
with Moscow in order to convince Russia that Riyadh was a better bet for
them than Tehran, the main goal being ″not to have Russia place all its cards in the region behind Iran″.[23]
In May 2017, the two countries agreed to extend the oil production cuts until March 2018.[24][25][26]
Saudi King′s visit to Russia (October 2017)
Russian president Vladimir Putin and King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in the Kremlin, 5 October 2017.
On 4 October 2017, a three-day visit of King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to Russia began, the first official trip to Russia (or the USSR) by a reigning Saudi monarch.[27][28]
The planned visit had been hailed by media as an unexpected
rapprochement between the two foes, and by Saudi Arabia's foreign
ministry — as "historic".[29][30][8] The sheer fact of the King′s visit was interpreted by American media as suggesting that the Saudi government, a close ally of the United States for more than 70 years, was pursuing a more independent role in the U.S.-Russian geopolitical rivalry.[31][32][33]
On the first day of negotiations, a package of bilateral documents was signed[34] that ranged from oil, military and space exploration.[35][36]
The weapons deals worth three billion dollars to be finalised at the
end of October 2017, in line with Saudi Arabia’s bid to localise arms
manufacturing, envisaged the possibility of transfer of technology for
the local production of Russian Kornet-EM anti-tank missiles, TOS-1A rocket launchers and AGS-30 automatic grenade launchers, the latest version of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, and long-range S-400 missile system.[37][38][39][40] Saudi Arabia agreed to invest one billion dollars in Russian energy projects, and Russian gas processing and petrochemicals company Sibur committed to build a plant in Saudi Arabia in a separate 1.1 bln agreement.[41]
Regarding an oil output cut deal extension to the end of 2018 that had
been floated as a possibility by Vladimir Putin a day prior to the talks
with the King,[42]
after the talks the Kremlin stressed that Vladimir Putin had not
proposed the extension but allowed it as a possibility, subject to
market conditions.[43][44]
Russian media and experts made much of the Saudi foreign minister′s
remark about prospects of the Russia sanctions being lifted but also
cautioned that real cooperation between the counties had yet to
materialise.[45]
It was reported that during the King Salman′s visit Russia had made a
request that Saudi Arabia participate in the rebuilding of Syria when
hostilities were over.[4
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