King Salman’s visit to Russia legitimizes Putin as a force in the region: King Salman will become the first Saudi Arabian monarch to visit Russia and the latest of Middle East rulers to attempt to strengthen diplomatic ties with Vladimir Putin, Bloomberg reports. Topping his agenda for the trip later this week was attempting to isolate Saudi’s regional rivals Iran — a close ally of Russia’s. The move represents a paradigm shift in regional politics in a region where the US was the sole arbitrator. “Putin has succeeded in making Russia a factor in the Middle East. That’s why you see a constant stream of Middle Eastern visitors going to Moscow,” says said Dennis Ross, the US’ former chief Mideast peace negotiator. Energy and other economic agreements appear to be in the offing. Saudi Arabia is considering investing in Russia’s largest oil drilling contractor, Eurasia Drilling Co., and Novatek PJSC’s proposed Arctic LNG 2, according to officials with knowledge of talks. While discussions are at an early stage, some framework accords could be signed during King Salman’s trip, one of the officials said.