Relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia have not always been warm. For decades during Soviet times, any relationship between the two countries was difficult, given the geopolitical differences.
Since 2015 however, when Saudi Arabia’s then-crown prince visited the St Petersburg International Economic Forum and met with president Vladimir Putin and a number of investors, the situation has started to change. It was then that Russian and Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth funds, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), established a $10bn partnership to invest in attractive projects in Russia to promote trade and investment co-operation between the two countries.