Russian Channel: Putin to Visit UAE and Saudi Arabia This Week

The Russian news channel "Shot" reported on Monday that Yuri Ushakov, aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, stated that Putin will visit the UAE and Saudi Arabia this week. The announcement of the visit comes after the OPEC+ alliance, which includes the three countries, agreed last Thursday to voluntary production cuts totaling approximately 2.2 million barrels per day. Markets have expressed skepticism about the agreement due to doubts regarding the full implementation of the voluntary cuts. Oil prices fell two percent last week following the announcement of the cuts and declined further today. In recent years, Putin has rarely traveled abroad, with his visits limited mostly to countries from the former Soviet Union. His last visit to a country outside this region was to China in October.