The leak reveals that Saudi Arabia agreed to pay Russia over 2 billion euros under a contract signed in 2021 involving companies that were repeatedly sanctioned, both before and after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has been exporting arms to countries including Saudi Arabia, bolstering its economy after a barrage of sanctions followed its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In fact, the Saudi Press Agency’s announcement that the kingdom would invest $600bn was based on the royal palace’s readout of a Wednesday phone call between Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This is Trump’s first phone call with a foreign leader since his inauguration earlier this week.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Friday from Damascus that his country was engaged in an active dialogue with Europe and the U.S. to help lift economic sanctions imposed on Syria.

Saudi Arabia plans to invest $600 billion in the US over the next four years, a move attributed to Donald Trump's solid relationships with the Saudi royal family. Concurrently, the US president has stated a desire to end the war in Ukraine with Saudi assistance by influencing global oil prices.

Trump in his first days in office has leaned in on the idea that OPEC+, the alliance of oil producing nations, holds the key to ending the war by reducing oil prices.

China is responding to Trump's energy-centric executive actions with a global diplomatic blitz. China courts the Middle East without push back from Washington.

Mongolia expects to sign green hydrogen and renewable energy agreements with Saudi Arabia worth several billion dollars over the next few months and is in talks with the United Arab Emirates for similar investments,

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledges $600 billion in US investments, backed by Trump’s endorsement. This move might leverage Saudi influence on oil prices to pressure Russia amid the Ukraine war.

US President Donald Trump has said that he would soon speak to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and help in settling the war in Ukraine. Trump’s comments came a day after Putin said Russia is ready for talks with the US on a broad range of issues.