... Trump bills himself, with his “America first” slogan, is less tied to the US’ traditional allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, protecting and supporting whom has become a burden for the US tax payers. It has already led people to
call him ... ... of view).
REUTERS/Rick Wilking
Igor Ivanov:
U.S. Diplomacy in the Shackles of Election
Politics
Trump is not concerned about Russia’s military presence in Syria as he thinks that the Russian air force does some of the work Americans would have to do otherwise.
His idea of cooperating ...
... internationally as far as the acute crisis in the Arab world is concerned, primarily in view of the disasters in Yemen, 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
...
... unbalancing of regional security may entail an aggravation of current crises and an exacerbation of nascent tensions, pushing Russia and the U.S. towards big decisions as early as this year. As a matter of fact, both the Kremlin and the White House would have to make choices momentous for themselves and the region.
The Syrian settlement is dangerously moving off the rails of the Vienna process, as Iran and Saudi Arabia, its key regional members, are losing the incentives to fulfill their obligations.
To this end, Syria and Yemen ...
... 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 Saudi support in the struggle against ISIS until the monarchy senses a threat ...
... a Russian-Saudi Deal on Syria is Highly
Unlikely?
A GCC Perspective
Omar Mahmood
, Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies
Recently there has been a flurry of phone calls and flights between Moscow and other key players in the Syrian conflict. Russian President Putin has called King Salman of Saudi Arabia twice in the last ten days, not to forget the various meetings that have occurred since the start of the Russian intervention in Syria and before. The Russian intervention in Syria as has been noted by most watchers of the region has completely ...
... Al-Assad’s regime. This is irreconcilable with Russian interests in Syria since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in March 2011. The Kremlin knows that no power other than Al-Assad and his regime would ever guarantee the preservation of its positions in Syria and on the Eastern Mediterranean.
Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates each accepted in their own way Russia's security-oriented vision. Conversely Saudi Arabia (and Turkey) unsurprisingly expressed a firm refusal to ally with the Iranians and to save Al-Assad.
These antagonist interests will unlikely prevent the continuation of bilateral top-level talks. Saudi Arabia sees how tarnished has become ...
... Doha in early August, Riyadh seems eager to continue these talks soon.
What do Saudis Want?
REUTERS/Grigory Dukor/Pixstream
Maxim Suchkov:
Time for a Reset in Russian-Saudi Relations
As seen from the talks between Lavrov and Al-Jubeir in Moscow, the Syrian problem is of greatest concern to Saudi Arabia. They are still at variance over the issue with Russia, but only as far as President Bashar Assad is concerned.
Riyadh believes that Assad is "part of the problem rather than of the crisis’ resolution, and there is no place for him in any future Syria." Saudi does not rule out any of ...
... the inclusion of investment and electric power peaceful nuclear projects, joint GLONASS-based projects and arms supplies to Saudi Arabia.
As far as the visit of Prince bin Salman is concerned, the American factor appears quite important. First, the ... ... with a sense of security, true faith in allied guarantees is gone. Moreover, since the greater part of the dialogue between Russia and the Gulf states has been focused on Syria with Moscow's stance coming across as the most principled, the Saudis tend to think (reasonably or not) that the solution ...
... fundamentalist regime in Syria will not change Israel’s position it will further slow down the pace of Putin’s gambit with Syria. Oil and natural gas politics complicate a peaceful transition Running in the background of all this is economic warfare, particularly the desire in Washington, Quatar and Saudi Arabia to reduce Russia’s footprint in the lucrative global liquid natural gas (LNG) market and oil markets . An article in the well-respected ...
