Saudi King's golden escalator breaks

World
Europe

As the head of the richest Gulf country, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia has a travel style that is epitomized by a set of golden escalators that help the 81-year-old disembark from his jet.

However, what appeared to be a technical glitch with the shinning device caused a slight disruption to the beginning of the Saudi King’s first ever state visit to Russia, Saudi’s fellow oil producer in OPEC, the crude oil exporter union.

The awkward moment struck right after the King stepped from his plane onto the stairway. Carrying him in a slow descent, the escalator suddenly stopped working, leaving the confused head of state stuck halfway between the plane and the ground, sheepishly waiting in vain.

Seeing no sign of the machine budging again, the King moved slowly off the stairs, escorted by his aides.

The brief moment was caught in a video and surfaced online.

But this isn’t the first time that the golden stairway has caught the eyes of the world as, early in March, it was disclosed by The Daily Mail newspaper that the Saudi King traveled to Japan with “two golden escalators”.

The size of the Saudi entourage to Moscow was also something that splashed across the world. According to Bloomberg, King Salman brought with him a group of “1,500 people.” The delegation had reportedly booked out two entire luxury hotels for the visit: the Ritz Carlton and the Four Seasons.

Judging by what the King said after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the visit didn't begin or end smoothly.

“[The two countries’ relations] are characterized by the coincidence of views on many regional and international problems," the King told reporters.

Source(s): AP