A faulty golden aircraft escalator and anger from Moscow's elite about a 200-strong Saudi retinue taking over all the city's 5-star hotels failed to dampen the fanfare accompanying King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on his first state visit to Russia. Met with an honour guard of dignitaries and the Preobrazhensky military orchestra, the Saudi king was sped along on a highway specially lined with billboards advertising the visit and a week-long festival of Saudi culture.

This was a big deal for Russia – with multi-billion energy and defence contracts in the balance – and it wanted King Salman to know.

Ahead of the visit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the event as "an historical moment". At the summit in the Kremlin on Thursday, Vladimir Putin agreed: This was a "landmark event" that would provide a "boost" to relations. And King Salman returned the compliments. Russia was "a friendly country," he said.