The Kremlin announced Thursday that it had postponed the planned Russia–Arab summit in Moscow after President Vladimir Putin and his Iraqi counterpart agreed that many Arab leaders would be unable to attend next week’s event amid the “active phase” of Washington’s Gaza peace plan.
However, Bloomberg later cited sources familiar with the matter as saying that the true reason for the delay was that only a handful of regional leaders had confirmed their attendance.
Out of the 22 Arab heads of state invited to the October 15 forum, only Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and the head of the Arab League had reportedly confirmed participation as of early this week, the Moscow Times reports.
Major regional powers — including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates — were said to have declined or withheld confirmation, according to Bloomberg’s sources.
Putin, speaking Friday in Tajikistan, said he had proposed postponing the summit “because I don’t want to interfere” with U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace initiative, which he described as potentially historic.
“If Donald succeeds in accomplishing everything he set out to do… it would be a truly historic event,” Putin told reporters.
Analysts told Bloomberg that the apparent snub underscores how much of the Arab world currently prefers to align with Trump’s diplomatic efforts rather than participate in Moscow’s attempt to display regional influence.
A Bloomberg source called the last-minute delay “disappointing” but said the summit is expected to be rescheduled.
The Kremlin confirmed the meeting would take place “at a later date to be further agreed upon.”
Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yury Ushakov, added that Moscow was “tentatively aiming for November,” noting that the final decision “depends on how the Trump plan is implemented” and on input from “our Arab friends.”
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