Russia’s sanctioned interior minister visits Saudi Arabia

Vladimir Kolokoltsev has been sanctioned by the US since 2018 as part of a slew of sanctions over Russia’s activity in both Syria and Ukraine.

Vladimir Kolokoltsev meets prince Abdulaziz bin Saud in Riyadh (Saudi Press Agency/AP)

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

Russian interior minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev’s visit to Riyadh came just days after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port city of Jeddah on Friday.