Russia's sanctioned Interior Minister visits Saudi Arabia just after trip by Ukraine's Zelensky

Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev who faces sanctions in the West over Moscow’s war on Ukraine visited Saudi Arabia early on May 23 and held talks with his counterpart, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud, in the kingdom

A top Russian official who faces sanctions in the West over Moscow's war on Ukraine visited Saudi Arabia early on May 23 and held talks with his counterpart in the kingdom, State media reported.

Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev's visit to Riyadh came just days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed an Arab League summit held in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port city of Jeddah on May 19. The visits underline how the kingdom and Gulf Arab states, traditionally the security clients of the United States, have been maintaining their relations with Moscow amid the Ukraine war.

The State-run Saudi Press Agency said Mr. Kolokoltsev met with Saudi Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud.

“During the session, they discussed ways to enhance security cooperation paths between the two countries' ministries of interior, in addition to discussing a number of issues of common interest,” the report said, without elaborating.

However, the Russian media did not immediately report on the visit.

Mr. Kolokoltsev, 62, has been sanctioned by the U.S. since 2018 as part of a slew of sanctions over Russia's activity in both Syria and Ukraine. The U.S. Treasury says that Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom all separately have sanctioned Mr. Kolokoltsev as well. The U.S. also refused to grant him a visa to participate in a United Nations chiefs of police summit in 2022, something criticized by Moscow.