Russia warns US not to interfere in Saudi royal succession
Russia has warned the US not to attempt to interfere in the order of succession in Saudi Arabia, and has expressed its support for crown prince Mohammad bin Salman despite the accusations that he had the government critic Khashoggi killed.
President Putin’s special representative for the Near East said that Prince Mohammed has the full right to the throne after 82 year-old King Salman dies.
“Of course we are opposed to interference. The Saudi nation and leaders must deal with such issues independently,” said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in an interview in Moscow on Tuesday.
“The king has decided, and I can’t even imagine on what basis someone in America would interfere in such matters and decide who should rule in Saudi Arabia – now or in future. This is the Saudis’ internal affair,” he remarked.
Senior US lawmakers believe that the Saudi crown prince had the journalist Jamal Khashoggi assassinated, and claim that the CIA supports this conclusion.
The Saudi authorities have repeatedly denied any involvement in the killing, and say that he was killed by government agents in an attempt to bring him back into the country.
Russia has accepted the official Saudi version of the story.
Since King Salman named Mohammed his successor and the 33 year-old prince became the effective ruler of the country, Moscow has been strengthening its ties with Saudi Arabia. The two countries have been coordinating their efforts to limit oil production, in order to keep the fuel prices within the range agreed on by OPEC+.
At the G20 summit in Argentina in November, Putin greeted Mohammed bin Salman with a broad smile and an enthusiastic handshake, whereas other world leaders greeted the crown prince coldly in light of the Khashoggi killing.
Putin is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia in 2019.