The murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi affected economic relations between Saudi Arabia and other countries. The leading world powers are reassessing the relationship with Riyadh. Besides, private entrepreneurs revise their joint projects with the US committed ally in the Middle East. But there is one other place where criticism has been non-existent: Russia.
While United States Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced he would not attend Saudi Arabia's Future Investment Initiative conference, Moscow sent a high-level delegation, led by Russian Direct Investment Fund head Kirill Dmitriev, to participate in the forum. Russia said there is not enough information about the situation to justify spoiling ties with Riyadh. Washington does not respond to the rapprochement between Russia and Saudi Arabia. At the same time, massive Saudi investment in the Russian energy sector could reduce the effectiveness of Western sanctions in the medium term.
However, analysts believe that there are also a number of limitations to this evolving partnership. This cooperation may unravel if more American crude oil floods the market in the near future. Another headwind in the Russia-Saudi partnership is a proxy conflict between the Kingdom and Iran. The latter is supported by its ally, Russia.
