Russia offers Saudi missile defences after attack

Published
27
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a news conference following trilateral talks with his counterparts Hassan Rouhani of Iran and Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey in Ankara, Turkey September 16, 2019. — Sputnik via Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a news conference following trilateral talks with his counterparts Hassan Rouhani of Iran and Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey in Ankara, Turkey September 16, 2019. — Sputnik via Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to sell Saudi Arabia its missile defence systems on Monday in the wake of the weekend attack on its oil facilities.

“We are ready to help Saudi Arabia so that she can protect her territory," the Russian president said.

“She can do so in the same way that Iran has already done in buying the S-300 Russian missile system and the same way that Turkey has already done in buying the S-400 Russian missile system,” Putin said at a press conference in Ankara, alongside the Turkish and Iranian leaders.

His comments come after the Kremlin warned against a hasty reaction to the strikes, which Washington has blamed on Iran.

But the attacks were initially claimed by Iran's Huthi rebel allies in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is bogged down in a five-year war.

Speaking alongside Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the attacks were an act of self-defence by Yemeni rebels. “Yemen is the target of daily bombings... The people of Yemen have been forced to respond, they are only defending themselves,” he said.

Huthi rebels threatened on Monday to carry out more strikes and urged foreigners to stay away.

On Monday, oil prices made their biggest jump since the Gulf War after US President Donald Trump warned that the United States was “locked and loaded” to respond to the attacks on the Saudi oil infrastructure.

Opinion

Editorial

Muddled hierarchy
Updated 15 Nov, 2026

Muddled hierarchy

The jurisdiction of the two courts and a mechanism for settling disputes between them should be spelt out in law, not left to judges to fight over.
Growing crisis
Updated 15 Nov, 2026

Growing crisis

Calling population growth a national emergency is easy. Ensuring that the response reaches the people who need it is the real challenge.
Organised rackets
15 Nov, 2026

Organised rackets

ON the International Day against Transnational Organised Crime, observed today, Pakistan finds itself in a tight...
Referendum talk
Updated 14 Nov, 2026

Referendum talk

Unless the PPP is deliberately using Sindh as a bargaining chip, it should issue a clarification with a clear, consistent position on new administrative units, not one tailored to protect its home turf.
Mineral wealth
Updated 14 Nov, 2026

Mineral wealth

Minerals should not be presented as a solution to Pakistan’s long-term economic difficulties. The aim should be to build an industrial base rather than export raw materials.
Late diagnosis
14 Nov, 2026

Late diagnosis

AS we mark World Diabetes Day today, Pakistan faces a troubling question: how many people are living with diabetes...