According to the Russian President Vladimir Putin, it is predictability that attracts international partners to develop relations with Russia. President Putin assured the audience that Russia never engages in double-dealing games with other countries and that is why foreign partners prefer to work together with Russia.

“I will tell you something – you may believe, you may not believe, but you can always ask our partners – our advantage is that we never double-deal with anyone. We are always honest with our partners, we openly state our position,” President Putin said at the international energy efficiency and development forum Russian Energy Week on October 4, 2017.

“If we disagree with something, we directly say that our position is so-and-so. We understand your position, we respect it, but we will act in a certain way,” the Russian leader said.

In the Russian President’s opinion, “[Russia] has a huge advantage in this respect, because we are predictable, unlike many other countries.” “It is not our military potential that attracts our partners to develop relations with the Russian Federation,” President Putin said.

“It goes without saying that both the military potential and the economic opportunities play a very important, sometimes the decisive role. Our capabilities in defense and security is growing; the potential of our defense industry is increasing; and we traditionally sell a large number of arms to the markets of the Middle East because we have had deep ties with many countries in that region historically. Still, we are also developing economic cooperation,” the Russian President said.

According to the Russian head of state, in 2016, the trade turnover with Middle Eastern countries increased 12.5 percent. In the first half of 2017, growth continued at a similar pace. “The trade is quite diversified, as these countries themselves are energy producers. Thus, a significant share of our trade relations is composed of machinery, equipment, and high-tech products,” President Putin said.

“Now, due to the short-sighted policies of some countries, when we were forced to respond to the sanctions imposed on us, the agricultural market players from many Middle Eastern countries took advantage of the opportunities and developed cooperation with us in the field of agriculture,” the President noted.

“We are confident in the future of Russian-Saudi relations and relations with other countries in the region,” the Russian head of state said. The Russian leader said that the country’s partners in the Middle East include Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Turkey, Syria, and Iran. On October 5, 2017, President Putin hosted King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia in Moscow.

Deals in energy and road construction were announced during the King’s visit. The Russian Direct Investment Fund and Saudi Aramco announced a USD1 billion fund to invest in oil-services projects in Russia.