Russian President, Vladimir Putin in a rare visit abroad since the start of war in Ukraine in 2022 will travel to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia this week Wednesday, according to aides to the President.

It was gathered that Putin planned to visit Abu Dhabi, UAE, this week over crude oil issues.

Newsmax, an American Independent news media reported that the Russian President, Vladimir Putin will visit the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia this week citing news report from Russian news outlet, Shot, in its publication on Monday. The Shot news media quoted Putin’s aide Yury Ushakov.

The reported visit comes after the OPEC+ group of oil producers, which includes all three countries, agreed last Thursday to voluntary output cuts totalling about 2.2 million barrels a day.

According to Newsmax, “Markets reacted with skepticism to the deal because of doubts about whether the voluntary cuts would be fully implemented. Oil prices fell 2% last week after the announcement, and declined further on Monday. Brent crude was down nearly 0.6% at $78.45. The figure of 2.2 million barrels per day included an extension of existing Saudi and Russian voluntary cuts of 1.3 million barrels per day”.

Shot was quoted to have reported that Ushakov said that Putin would go first to UAE and then to Saudi Arabia, where negotiations would take place mainly with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“I hope that these will be very useful negotiations, which we consider extremely important,” Ushakov said.

Media report indicated that Putin has rarely traveled abroad in recent years, and mostly to states of the former Soviet Union. His last trip beyond those countries was to China in October.

“Apart from cooperation in OPEC+, Putin is keen to cultivate the Gulf states as part of his drive to build global alliances with non-Western countries in order to demonstrate what he says is the failure of the United States and its allies to isolate Russia with sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

“Putin’s scope to travel abroad was limited in March when the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him for the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, a war crime. Russia denied the charge and called the move outrageous, but said it was legally void in any case because Russia is not a member of the ICC.Neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE is a member of the court either, so Putin can travel to both countries without fear of being arrested under the ICC warrant.

“Neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE is a member of the court either, so Putin can travel to both countries without fear of being arrested under the ICC warrant”, Newsmax reported.

Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin have accepted letters of credence from 21 foreign ambassadors to the Russian Federation at the Kremlin on December 4.

A letter of credence is a formal request for a country to accept a diplomatic envoy. The ambassadors, Putin recognize on Monday span from a wide range of non-Western countries including Mali, Pakistan, Algeria, and the Dominican Republic but also Western ones including the UK, Sweden, and Australia.

At the ceremony, Putin was quoted to have said he regrets strained relations with South Korea, saying he is ready to improve them.

Also, Russian President, Vladimir Putin on the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights during his meeting with the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights on Monday said: “December 10 marks the 75th anniversary of the adoption by the UN of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“Unfortunately, we commemorate this milestone in a challenging situation, as the international system for ensuring and promoting human rights continues to deteriorate. Its institutions, inherently controlled by the West, display political bias, hypocrisy and undisguised selectivity.

“For eight years, we have been witnessing their helplessness and direct disregard for the gross violations against the people of Donbass. These human rights bodies not only failed to recognize, but even encouraged manifestations of Russophobia, supporting the countries that rushed to take the lead in this shameful competition of Russophobia.

“As you know, Russia withdrew from a number of international human rights organizations, but this does not mean that we are abandoning the principles laid down in the Universal Declaration. On the contrary, we are ready to cooperate with all interested parties and partners, to find solutions for forming an effective, fair and equal system for ensuring human rights for everyone.

“For eight years, we have been witnessing their helplessness and direct disregard for the gross violations against the people of Donbass. These human rights bodies not only failed to recognize, but even encouraged manifestations of Russophobia, supporting the countries that rushed to take the lead in this shameful competition of Russophobia.

“As you know, Russia withdrew from a number of international human rights organizations, but this does not mean that we are abandoning thpe principles laid down in the Universal Declaration. On the contrary, we are ready to cooperate with all interested parties and partners, to find solutions for forming an effective, fair and equal system for ensuring human rights for everyone”.