Alwaght- Saudi Ambassador to Russia Abdulrahman Al-Rassi has recently announced that Riyadh was counting on long-term strategic cooperation with Moscow, including security collaboration, Sputnik reported adding that Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud aims to visit Russia "very soon".
Saudi Defense Minister, Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, also met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum to discuss ties.
His arrival marks the first visit since relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia soured after the conflict in Syria began in 2011, where Saudi Arabia supported the anti-government armed forces. The Prince, as Kings representative, delivered the invitation message to President Putin to visit the King, which was accepted by Mr. Putin.
Due to many misunderstandings between the two sides, Russia and Saudi Arabia have rarely seen eye to eye. For example The Saudis are Russia's major competitors in the oil business: both are fighting for market share in China. In addition, in the Middle Eastern wars, the two countries are aligned with the opposing sides, e.g. Saudi Arabia has worked hard to topple president Bashar al-Assad's Government in Syria, a Putin ally. Going further The Saudis are against Iran, and Russia has just agreed to revive a deal to supply S-300 missiles to Tehran that had been scuppered by international sanctions. Without forgetting that Saudi Arabia is the second biggest buyer of weapons in the world -- largely from the US--but it has never bought from Russia, the second-biggest seller. And of course it is worth to mention that Moscow has been critical of Saudi-led airstrikes against the Ansarullah movement who hold power in large parts of Yemen. Beside the fact that Russia is a key ally of Iran, which has been accused by Saudi Arabia of providing weapons and training to Ansarullah movement. Iran, however, denies the allegations.
The evidences mentioned above leads, to the question that needs to be answered: why now? Is it by chance that, the most two powerful characters in Saudi House visited and aims to visit Moscow? What are the reasons behind these visits?
A veiled warning to the US was clearly among the goals of Prince Mohammed's Russian trip. Abdurahman Al-Rashed, general manager of Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television station, wrote in Asharq Al-Awsat, a newspaper with close ties to the Saudi establishment:
In my opinion, the most important feature of the Deputy Crown Prince’s visit was that it was not customary; it took place at a time when the United States and its European allies have decided to economically boycott Russia, sanctioning Moscow over events in Ukraine. This time, the Saudi government took an unusual step and decided to do the opposite: rekindle its relations with Moscow, grow business ties, and sign agreements and deals in vital fields such as gas and nuclear and military technologies. This is one of the rare times that Riyadh has taken an opposing line to Washington. But the reason is clear: the Saudis who supported the Western position to boycott Iran for 20 years have discovered that Washington betrayed them when it decided to collaborate with Tehran, without coming to an understanding with its partners who had joined the initial boycott.
This feeling of betrayal apparently has led the Saudis to seek some balance, a second partner with an interest in containing Iran, and perhaps prevent a Russia-Iran alliance.
Saudi Arabia wants Russia, which is a key player in Syria, Yemen and Lebanon, to be on its side. In the past few days, Russia has sharply beefed up its military presence in Syria, reports from American officials, denied by the Russian authorities, state that it now has at least 28 warplanes deployed at an airbase outside Latakia on the Syrian coast. At the same time, Russia has been increasing the number of soldiers deployed to the base; Russia started its air strikes on ISIS and other terrorist groups, and is backing up its troops with more modern equipment. Russia's military intervention is pushing the officials in the kingdom to accelerate their attempts to strengthen ties with the county, so that they can express their worries and have access to the decision-makers circle inside it. Especially when there are news of upcoming deal to resolve the crisis in Syria and Yemen, one of the offered scenarios is by assigning the crisis in Yemen for the Saudis to solve, and the Syrian crisis for the Russians to deal with, as a settlement for the differences between the two sides.
While there are many suggested scenarios, it is clear that Al Saud is caught between a rock and a hard place, as they are drowning in the muds of Syria and Yemen, just hoping to catch any opportunity.
