Vladimir Putin landed in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday for a visit to what the Kremlin hailed as Russia’s “main economic partner in the Arab world”.

The Russian president, who has rarely left Russia since the start of the Ukraine war, is courting allies in the Middle East, where he will discuss oil, trade and the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Russian state television showed Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the UAE’s president, and other officials greeting Putin on the runway.

Putin is expected to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman when he arrives in Saudi Arabia later on Wednesday. 

He will host Ebrahim Raisi, the president of Iran, in Moscow on Thursday, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, said.

Trade and oil will be on the agenda in the UAE, which is “Russia’s main economic partner in the Arab world”, according to a statement issued by the Kremlin ahead of the visit.

Putin will also discuss the situation in Syria and Yemen, and broader issues such as ensuring stability in the Gulf, the Kremlin said. A Kremlin aide said Ukraine would also be discussed.

This is the Russian leader’s third trip outside the former Soviet Union since he invaded Ukraine, after visits to Iran and China.

The Russian president has since March been wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has accused him of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.

Putin skipped the BRICS summit in South Africa in August to avoid causing a “political show” and did not attend the G20 summit in September in person.