..., Libya and Syria.
Generally speaking, Algiers is striving to preserve the so far surviving states of the Greater Middle East in the existing borders and to stabilize the environment, since its deterioration will threaten Algeria, which is something Russia is also trying to achieve.
Yemen
In actuality, Algeria’s stance runs counter to the plans of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and certain Western states. For instance, in 2015 the Algerian government effectively
disrupted Riyadh’s schemes
to send a “joint Sunni army” to Yemen to fight against the pro-Iranian Houthis.
By doing so Algeria obviously ...
... prices rose, approaching 40 USD/bbl, precisely after information about an imminent agreement among oil producers regarding a
production freeze at January 2016 levels emerged
. At a February 16 meeting in Doha, aimed at supporting global oil prices, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela decided to fix the average 2016 oil output at January levels, but they made it clear that implementation of the freeze was conditional upon other nations agreeing to participate. Readiness to support the measure was expressed ...
... of cooperation between the two organizations.
During the meeting the sides discussed prospects for holding joint scientific and expert events. The Saudi side proposed to run this year a conference on the present stage of bilateral relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Such an initiative could contribute to discussing a wide range of obstacles that hinder multilateral cooperation between the two countries. Economic projects and the work of the media were noted as the key directions in this respect.
RIAC ...
... on the characteristics of crowdfunding schemes that change on a daily basis, much like markets that post profits and losses. Welcome to crowdfunding with the enemy. Here'show it works.
Reuters and CNN buzzed up a tenuous agreement between Russia and Saudi Arabia to freeze oil output at current “maximum” production levels( no reduction in production). But this initiative can't move forward without the approval of Iran, who want to increase production and earn hard currency. What ...
... of the Russian presence nor of U.S. policies, the atmosphere has become permeated with nervousness, unpredictability and high risks. All of this may drive them into steps fraught with long-term hazards.
New Regional Escalation as a Maturity Test for Russian and American Strategies
Broken diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran have only legitimized the mutual rejection and antagonism, which for a long time had existed in the form of proxy wars. A further unbalancing of regional security may entail an aggravation of current crises and an exacerbation of ...
... eagerness can hardly be called an attempt to find balance between Russia and the United States, since Riyadh’s steps are too situational and opportunistic. And Russia is in no position to
replace
the U.S. as the key extra-regional partner for Saudi Arabia, or anything close.
Occasional suggestions on the subject in the Russian media do not mean that the Kremlin is entertaining any such illusions, despite clear interest in the dream becoming reality. Despite its numerous problems, Riyadh will have a significant impact on the Syria settlement. One should not expect full-fledged ...
... diplomatic attention that it has attracted, but also in terms of the staggering variety of foreign troops officially and unofficially operating on Syrian territory. This comes at a time when the long-term regional role of key players such as the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, remains up in the air. This report aims to remedy this communication lacuna by furnishing readers with Russian and GCC perspectives on the issue, delivered by researchers specializing in Gulf strategic issues.
Introduction
The ...
... made clear that the Kingdom would grant lucrative arms contracts to Russia (most notably the Russian mobile surface-to-air missile system S-400) on the condition that it curbs military cooperation with Iran. The “S-400 diplomacy” between Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran then proved to be a bargaining tool in the hands of Riyadh. More recently, in 2013 and 2014, Prince Bandar (who was then the Saudi intelligence chief) paid several visits to Vladimir Putin and reiterated proposals of colossal billion-worth ...
... OPEC’s November 2014 meeting, the organization officially abandoned its role as a swing producer by refusing to cut production and support oil prices.
Some analysts speculated that a Saudi-led GCC decision in OPEC was targeted against Iran and Russia. Saudi Arabia has had its own experience with such market conditions in the 1980s and does not want to repeat the same mistake for the sake of other producers’ benefits. Saudi oil minister Ali Al-Naimi was very clear in explaining Saudi oil policy: ...
... Diplomatic Studies held the first Russian-Saudi roundtable on bilateral relations, Middle East situation and the Gulf security.
The event was opened by RIAC Director General Andrey Kortunov, MGIMO Pro-Rector on Research and RIAC member Eugeny Kozhokin, Russian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Oleg Ozerov, Saudi Ambassador to Russia Abdulrahman bin Ibrahim Al-Rassi, and Institute of Diplomatic Studies Director Abdulkarim bin Hamoud Al-Dakhil.
The event was attended by key Russian and Saudi experts, with RIAC represented by Ambassador ...
