Russo-Saudi Romance May Marginalize th. BACKGROUND: The apparent rapprochement between Russia and Saudi Arabia during Crown Prince Abdullah’s visit to Moscow is likely to have large implications for global energy markets, and especially for Caspian producers. There are significant forces which push Saudi Arabia and Russia into each other’s embrace. Oil, weapons and geopolitics drive their newly found common agenda. Moscow, on its part, is driven towards a partnership with Saudi Arabia for a combination of geopolitical and geo-economic reasons. It is looking to compensate itself for the loss of influence in the Gulf with the demise of Saddam Hussein, the old Soviet client. Russian companies connected to Moscow high-flying insiders used to do brisk business – up to $1 billion a year -- in Iraqi oil under the U.N.
-sponsored oil-for-food programs. Most importantly, though, Moscow believes that Saudis and other rich Gulf states keep the keys to the 9-year-old war in Chechnya. Saudi-Russian Military Cooperation. A simple, one-sentence Russian language news item published by Russia’s Interfax on July 14 seemingly signals yet another tectonic shift in the Middle East’s volatile mixture of oil, religion and weaponry. The item read, “An agreement about military-technical collaboration (VTS) between Russia and Saudi Arabia was signed Monday evening, reports an Interfaks [sic] correspondent; the agreement was signed in the presence of RF Prime Minister Vladimir Putin by Federal agency on VTS head Mikhail Dmitriev and National Security Council of Saudi Arabia Secretary General Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz” (Interfax, July 14). Saudi Ambassador to Russia Ali bin Hassan Jaafar commented that the event reflected the two nations’ “sincere” desire to develop not only military-technical cooperation, but also broader joint endeavors in other fields, adding, “It will be one more bridge linking our countries” (Vedomosti, July 16).
The Emerging Saudi-Russian Partnership. Vol. 3 No. 1 January-March 2008 The Emerging Saudi-Russian Partnership by Mark N. Katz Mark N. Katz, a professor of government and politics at George Mason University, has written extensively on Soviet and Russian foreign policy toward the Middle East for over a quarter century. D uring the Cold War, few governments exhibited more mutual antipathy than Moscow and Riyadh. Since 2003, however, Saudi-Russian relations have witnessed a marked improvement. Background At the close of the twentieth century, relations between Moscow and Riyadh were soured by a multitude of disputes.
Above all, the Russians had one overarching complaint - that Riyadh was funding Muslim separatists in the Russian Autonomous Republic of Chechnya. Saudi-Russian relations deteriorated further in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Rapprochement Second, strains in the US-Russian relationship made Putin more receptive to an opening with the Saudis. Chechnya. Saudi-Russian Relations Since the Abdulla. Pélerinage saoudien de la diplomatie russe. Les relations entre la Russie et l'Arabie saoudite n'ont jamais été aussi cordiales qu'en 2009. Après des années de tensions sur le soutien saoudien au fondamentalisme islamique dans l'espace post-soviétique et la proximité de la Russie avec l'Iran et l'Irak, Moscou et Riyad ont opéré un rapprochement progressif.
Celui-ci a été favorisé par la complexité croissante de leurs relations respectives avec les États-Unis, les inquiétudes provoquées par la situation en Irak et la remontée, entre 2003 et 2008, des prix des hydrocarbures. Néanmoins, leur relation est limitée par des intérêts divergents dans le domaine énergétique et subit les fluctuations de l'environnement politique moyen-oriental, notamment autour du dossier iranien. Au final, en se rapprochant de Riyad, Moscou souhaite avant tout améliorer son image politique et affirmer sa présence dans le monde arabo-musulman. Le Kremlin joue sur plusieurs tableaux et sa relation au Royaume reste tributaire de ses rapports avec Washington.