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What's behind Russia’s 'wait and see' approach on Khashoggi killing?

Russia has been keeping a rather low profile on the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, but this stance is driven by profound considerations of Moscow's own role in the Middle East

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Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud walk before their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Oct. 5, 2017. — Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS

MOSCOW — On Oct. 25, Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud called Russian President Vladimir Putin. The official readout of the conversation said that Salman confirmed his invitation to Putin to visit Saudi Arabia and that the two “agreed to work out the terms of such a visit through diplomatic channels.” Putin and Salman also “thoroughly discussed issues of the further development of multifaceted bilateral cooperation, including in the energy sector,” as well as Syria and “the state of affairs in the Middle East in general.”

“The situation around the ‘Jamal Khashoggi case’ was also addressed,” the readout said. Up until now, Russia has kept a low profile on one of the most heinous recent international incidents.

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