"I would like to repeat — no matter who instigated the attack, [Russia] condemns these types of activities", Putin told reporters ahead of his visit to the Middle Eastern country.
Additionally, Putin said Russia viewed Saudi Arabia as a friendly nation and intended to continue developing its bilateral relations with Riyadh.
"We view Saudi Arabia as a friendly nation and I personally have very good relations with the Saudi King [Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud] and Crown Prince [Mohammed Bin Salman Al Saud]. [Bilateral] relations are developing in practically all spheres", Putin said.
The Russian president noted Saudi Arabia's leading role in the global energy sector and said Moscow placed great importance on continuing developing relations with Riyadh particularly in this field.
Putin is due to visit Saudi Arabia on 14 October. During his visit, the Russian leader is expected to meet with King Salman and the crown prince. Earlier in October, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said that about 30 documents, both commercial and interdepartmental, were being prepared for signing ahead of Putin's visit. Putin is also due to attend the first meeting of the Russian-Saudi economic council.
Russia's Foreign Ministry first openly condemned the attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities in a statement on 16 September, just two days after the attack. While the Yemeni Houthi movement claimed responsibility for the attacks, US State Secretary Mike Pompeo accused Iran of being behind them. Tehran has refuted the US allegations.
The drone attacks on two Saudi Aramco plants, in Abqaiq and Khurais, were carried out on 14 September. Due to the significant damage that was done to the facilities, the production of around 5.7 million barrels of crude oil per day was temporarily hindered, accounting for over a half of Saudi Arabia’s total daily output.
