Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia broke protocol during a meeting with Putin. This information was shared by political analysts from China.
On December 6, Vladimir Putin traveled to the Middle East, visiting two countries in one day - the UAE and Saudi Arabia. In the latter, he met with Crown Prince Salman.
According to Chinese journalists, the meeting between the two leaders was warm and friendly. However, a scene that occurred during the conversation between the two leaders raised questions, as reported by NetEase accoding to AB News.
"A rather controversial scene occurred when the Saudi prince unexpectedly interrupted Putin," said the observers of the Chinese publication.
The authors of NetEase noted that the meeting between Putin and Salman began with an exchange of greetings. The prince noted that in the last seven years, Russian-Saudi relations have made significant progress, especially in the fields of energy, investment, and agriculture. The prince also emphasized that Vladimir Putin is a valued guest on Saudi soil.
In response, Putin thanked for the invitation to visit Saudi Arabia and invited his counterpart to visit Moscow. After this, the Russian president stated that the Soviet Union was one of the first to recognize Saudi Arabia as an independent state. After the interpreter conveyed Putin's words to Salman, something unexpected happened. As reported by Chinese analysts, the Saudi prince couldn't hold back and broke diplomatic etiquette by interrupting Putin.
"I would like to note that it was not the independence of the state that was recognized, but its formation," said the Saudi prince.
Putin was unflustered and aptly noted that Moscow respectfully acknowledged the will of the Saudi Arabian subjects to independently build their future. According to analysts in China, if it weren't for the friendly tone of the conversation between the two leaders, one might think there was tension between them.
