“Saudi prince to miss G20 summit: Putin’s absence and end of Biden’s term may have influenced it – Bloomberg Mohammed bin Salman will not attend the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro due to a chronic ear canal disease. The decision may also have been influenced by Putin’s absence and the end of Biden’s presidency.”, — write on: unn.ua
Details
The most likely reason is that the more than 14-hour flight from the Saudi capital of Riyadh to the Brazilian city could worsen the 39-year-old’s chronic ear canal disease, the source said.
The Saudi leader has experienced ear congestion and inflammation in the past that lasted for days after long-haul flights, the source said. He has previously canceled foreign trips at the last minute, including a state visit to Japan this year while his ailing 88-year-old father, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, was being treated for pneumonia.
A Saudi government official declined to comment.
Prince Mohammed serves as prime minister and manages the kingdom’s day-to-day affairs due to the poor health of the Saudi monarch. Last year, he attended the G20 summit in New Delhi.
The absence of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and the fact that Joe Biden’s US presidency ends in two months could have influenced Prince Mohammed’s decision, the source added.
Addition
The Saudi crown prince, who enjoys warm relations with Donald Trump, was one of the first world leaders to call the US president-elect to congratulate him immediately after his victory earlier this month. The royal person, as the publication notes, is also close to Putin. Russia and Saudi Arabia, the world’s top five oil producers, continue to work together to manage market supplies through the OPEC+ coalition, which they jointly lead.
Putin, as the publication reminds, high-fived Prince Mohammed during the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in 2018, when the Saudi prince was ostracized by many Western leaders after the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabian consulate.
The US and its allies have since put Khashoggi’s case behind them, given the kingdom’s political and economic weight and its increasingly prominent role in global finance. The crown prince launched his multi-trillion dollar master plan, known as Vision 2030, to open up the once ultra-conservative and secretive country, reduce its dependence on oil and bring it into the world’s 10 largest economies, the paper said.