“Innovation from the point of view of international visits” – Kommersant FM

Russian air force number one departed, accompanied by four VKS fighters, to the Middle East. According to the Kremlin press service, the decision was previously agreed upon by the heads of countries along the route of Vladimir Putin’s plane. Among the results of the visit, the expansion of economic partnership with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates was announced. Kommersant FM political commentator Dmitry Drize believes that combat aircraft are a signal to the West.

Russian Air Force One departed for the Middle East with an honorary escort of four modern domestic SU-35S fighters. The decision was agreed upon, and appropriate permission was received from all countries through which the President of the Russian Federation traveled to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

The events of November 2014 come to mind. It was a difficult time: Crimea annexed Russia, and a Malaysian Boeing crashed in Donbass. But the Western partners, nevertheless, still remained so.

Vladimir Putin arrived in Brisbane, Australia for the G20 summit. There he was given, let’s say, a not very warm welcome. In the end, we even had to shorten the visit program. Although the official reason was urgent business. And some kind of dialogue took place, unlike in modern times.

During Putin’s stay in Brisbane, a Russian fleet group was spotted near the Australian coast. Namely, a detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet consisting of the guards missile cruiser “Varyag”, the large anti-submarine ship “Marshal Shaposhnikov” and escort vessels. Moscow denied any connection between these maneuvers and the G20 summit. However, the event had an effect and was actively discussed. True, it cannot be said that the meeting participants were somehow very scared. But, nevertheless, they noticed and noted. At least in the media for sure.

And now we see a somewhat similar situation. Now, however, the Western partners are already completely ex-partners. And even some arrest warrants for the head of the Russian Federation are issued. It cannot be ruled out that we are dealing with an image operation. Look, they say, we can stand up for ourselves and we have the appropriate weapons – we’ll fight. And at the same time they staged a beautiful air show in the skies over the Middle Eastern countries.

This was hardly dictated by safety. There is an international protocol in this regard, and appropriate guarantees are provided. It is unlikely that anyone, even in theory, would intend to attack an official presidential plane – this would be a direct declaration of war. Even if we assume such a fantastic solution, four fighters are unlikely to help here. And, in fact, no serious reaction to such a beautiful flight is noticeable in the world. Unlike Australian events.

In general, this is, of course, an innovation from the point of view of international visits. This is not usually practiced. But we must be different from others and be ahead of the rest. At Putin’s upcoming press conference, they will most likely be asked about this. In a word, we managed to create intrigue.

So the Kremlin press service issued this message as important. Actually, as for the political results of the short visit, of course, they exist: the key countries of the Middle East are ready for further partnership with Russia. This was what needed to be proven to the world community. We are not in isolation. And we will cooperate in the economy and earn money. There are benefits for the state, even if there were no special breakthroughs or sensations.

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