President Putin speaks at an event at the Kremlin on December 4.
AFP news agency on December 5 quoted a Kremlin spokesman as saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit and work in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), before returning home and holding talks with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
The leader will visit two Middle Eastern countries on December 6, after a period of limited travel abroad since Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine and he was arrested by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in connection with the Ukraine issue, although the Kremlin denied it.
"President Putin will pay a working visit to the UAE and Saudi Arabia tomorrow," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on December 5, adding that the Russian president will discuss bilateral relations, the Hamas-Israel conflict, as well as international political issues.
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In addition, Mr. Peskov said the leader will also discuss oil markets, after Russia, as one of 10 OPEC partners, announced that it would continue voluntary supply cuts.
The UAE is currently hosting the UN's COP28 climate conference, but the Kremlin has not said whether Mr Putin will attend related events.
Putin has previously skipped several summits since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. He did not attend the BRICS summit in South Africa in August. He also did not attend the G20 summit in person in September, although he later attended the G20's virtual summit in November.
After his trip to the Middle East, Mr. Putin is expected to return home and welcome Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on December 7.
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Iran's Irna news agency said Mr Raisi would travel to Moscow at the invitation of Mr Putin. Bilateral issues, including economic cooperation, as well as discussions on regional and international issues, especially the situation in Gaza, will be at the top of the agenda of the one-day trip, the report said.
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