Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, a brother of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, arrived in Moscow, where he held talks with Russian officials.
Khalid bin Salman was greeted by Russian Defense Ministry officials upon his arrival. During his two-day visit, the Saudi Deputy Defense Minister came together with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.
The following day, the Saudi Deputy Minister came together with a number of Russian government officials in separate meetings. In this context, the Saudi official discussed bilateral defense cooperation initiatives with Dmitry Shugayev, the Director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, and held talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Representative of the President for the Middle East, Mikhail Bogdanov, and Leonid Slutsky, Chairman of the State Duma Committee.
Saudi Arabia, a close regional ally of the US, has come under pressure over its human rights record as the Biden administration revealed a classified intelligence report indicating the Saudi Crown Prince’s involvement in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. President Biden also ended support for Saudi-led operations in Yemen, which caused eyebrows to rise in the Kingdom.
