The Joe Biden administration has decided to "recalibrate" US relations with Saudi Arabia following the release of an intelligence report claiming that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman "likely" approved the 2018 operation to "capture or kill" Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Riyadh has strongly rejected the report, and less than a month after the announcement was made, Mohammed bin Salman met Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as the top diplomat toured the Gulf states.
Dr Hamdan Al-Shuhri, a Riyadh-based political analyst, says it is an integral part of his country's foreign policy to maintain friendly relations with all major players.
"We are making deals and buying weapons from many states. It is our right. Plus, we have always had good relations with Russia and now they can only get better".
Ups and Downs
However, relations between Moscow and Riyadh have seen many ups and downs. The Soviet Union was one of the first countries to recognise the establishment of Saudi Arabia as an independent state.
But the era of the Communist leader Joseph Stalin saw those ties strained to the point that the bilateral relations were severed in 1938, and were only re-established in 1992 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Under President Vladimir Putin, these relations were taken to a whole new level, especially after the 2017 visit of King Salman to Moscow and the impressive military deals that followed shortly after.
Mediation is Needed
While it is not yet clear which deals were put on the table during the meeting of Lavrov and the Saudi crown prince, Al-Shuhri is certain that the visit of the Russian foreign minister was aimed at cementing his country's position in the region and discussing a number of pressing issues.
The most important of those is Iran. Apart from claiming that Iran is developing weapons of mass destruction, allegations that Tehran denies, Saudi Arabia is accusing the Islamic Republic of destabilising the region by supporting and encouraging various extremist militias.
The primary concern raises the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who in recent weeks have stepped up their attacks on Saudi targets, launching drones at the country's oil sites, an airport, and bases, a red line for the leadership in Riyadh.
The expert sees this as Iran's attempts to undermine the stability of the region, encourage sectarianism, and fuel the conflict, and this is why, he believes, the only way to stop them is through "cooperation with such powerful players as Russia".
Yet, Russia's role as a mediator will not be easy, believes the expert, especially given its friendly relationship with the Iranians and its rather stable position in the Gulf.
"For the Russian mediation to work, Moscow needs to be committed to resolving this problem. It is not enough just to sell us arms. More weapons will not solve the issue. We need a permanent solution".
"Working with Russia is paramount for us because they have an arsenal of arms and they are active and influential on the global arena. So we will definitely bolster our relations with Moscow. But I doubt we will take a dramatic U-turn on the US, unless Washington decides to aggravate the situation, leaving us no choice".