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On December 5, news broke out of Russia that Russia** Putin, who had sharply cut back his diplomatic visits, would visit two Middle Eastern countries, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, the next day.
Obviously, after Russia took the initiative in the Russian-Ukrainian situation, Putin began to seek further and began his trip to the Middle East.
Putin made a surprise visit to the Middle East
After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia is facing a great diplomatic dilemma, and Western countries have joined forces to isolate Russia, and in March this year, they also manipulated the International Criminal Court to issue a warrant for Putin's arrest.
Originally, under the war, Putin devoted more energy to domestic affairs, and with this "wanted notice", Putin's foreign visits were naturally further reduced for security reasons.
This time, however, Putin has reversed his previous cautious stance and targeted the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East as targets for a new round of foreign visits.
Although it is true that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have not signed the Rome Statute, and the "wanted" of the National Criminal Court has no effect in these two countries, these two countries are indeed important "basic plates" of the United States.
Even if we do not take into account the factors that the two countries are influenced by the United States, and only say that the United States still has thousands of troops stationed in each of the two countries, it is impossible for Russia to be completely relieved at a time when it is almost torn apart from the United States and the West.
In fact, there are apparently concerns on the part of the Russian side, as it is reported that Russia sent four Su-35S fighter jets to escort Putin's foreign visit.
It can also be seen from this that when he is not at ease about security, Putin has to go to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia for another round of visits, which is obviously a plan.
Russia's layout in the Middle East
The strategic value of the Middle East, which can be followed by the United States and Western countries for a long time and whose large investments also want to be stabilized, is naturally extraordinary.
Located at the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe, the Middle East is an important link between East and West, in particular it also controls the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean Sea and several important shipping routes connecting Asia and Europe.
This unique geographical location has made the Middle East the most important strategic point in the world, and has long been the focus of global political and economic activities.
In modern times, the Middle East has also been found to be an energy-rich land, with about 60% of the world's oil reserves and 40% of natural gas reserves.
In the industrial age, these energy sources were crucial to the energy security of industrialized countries, and the discovery of energy made the Middle East an object of contention among countries.
Naturally, Russia is also very aware of the strategic value of the Middle East.
Although after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia tried to join the Western camp and show goodwill to the West, and took the initiative to back down when the United States and the West further penetrated the Middle East, and gave up many good partners that the Soviet Union had wooed.
However, as Russia gradually sees through the West and still regards Russia as an imaginary enemy and will not accept Russia's true face, Russia has also adjusted its strategy and returned to the Middle East.
Russia's return to the Middle East is mainly due to the following considerations.
First of all, the stability of the Middle East is directly related to Russia's interests and interests.
Turmoil and terrorist activities in the Middle East may spread to the southern part of Russia and the North Caucasus, threatening Russia's territorial integrity and social stability.
At the same time, Russia also hopes to protect and expand Russia's interests in the fields of energy, arms, and nuclear energy through its presence and influence in the Middle East, and enhance Russia's economic strength and international competitiveness.
Moreover, when we get rid of the illusion of "throwing ourselves in the West" and make up our minds to reshape our status as a great power, the Middle East will be an important stage for demonstrating and proving Russia's status and role as a great power.
Of course, challenging and balancing the dominant position of the United States in the Middle East is also an important consideration for Russia.
In 2015, Russia sent troops to Syria in the name of counterterrorism, marking Russia's official return to the Middle East.
Prior to this, Russia had reshaped its influence in the Middle East through diplomatic mediation and economic and trade cooperation.
After officially returning to the Middle East, Russia has made more efforts on both fronts and has achieved considerable results.
One of the typical examples is that Russia has reached an OPEC+ cooperation mechanism with Middle Eastern oil producers and other major oil producers in the world, which has greatly enhanced the voice of oil producers in pricing and safeguarded the interests of oil producers.
It is precisely because of this that Middle Eastern oil producers are also very welcoming to OPEC+ cooperation.
After the OPEC+ cooperation was reached, the Middle East repeatedly rebelled against the United States' "production guidance" and profited from it, which frustrated the United States' calculations and greatly increased Russia's influence in the Middle East.
This can be seen from the fact that during Putin's visit to the United Arab Emirates, the UAE not only allowed Russian fighter jets with loaded guns to enter the country, but also sent foreign ministers to the airport to greet him in person and held a grand welcoming ceremony for Putin.
In a gesture of welcoming Putin, the UAE even sent planes to spray a tricolor of smoke in the air, a symbol of the Russian flag.
Subsequently, Saudi Arabia's reception of Putin was also full of sincerity, organizing a high-level reception group to wait at the airport, and the Saudi crown prince and prime minister, who was often "late", also waited at the meeting place early this time, and personally went out to greet Putin's arrival.
And this venture to visit the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, Putin is naturally not just to show his presence to Western countries.
During the talks, Putin and the two countries carried out energy cooperation, regional cooperation and other aspects. Both Russia and the Middle East spoke highly of the significance of this visit, while the United States and the West sighed.
Russia's great power ambitions
At the moment when the war on the Russian-Ukrainian front is not extinguished, Putin chose to visit the Middle East, and it is obvious that Russia has stabilized the situation in this confrontation with the United States and Western countries.
If it weren't for the fact that he had already seized the initiative on the battlefield, and the domestic economy had withstood the sanctions imposed by the United States and the West and restored stability, Putin would not have been so relieved to go to the Middle East to engage in diplomacy.
In fact, it is.
Due to the huge amount of aid invested in Ukraine but the results of the war in Ukraine have not been seen, many voices in Europe and the United States have called for the cessation of aid to Ukraine, and some countries have even put this voice into practice.
Even the United States, although the attitude of the first side still seems to be resolute, but Congress has no longer approved the aid to Ukraine, so that the new aid plan for Ukraine has not been approved for a long time.
In this way, Ukraine can receive less and less support, even if Zelensky is still using his talent as an actor on various international stages, trying to mobilize the United States and the West to support Ukraine, but the effect has always been poor.
And Ukraine was able to contend with Russia on the front line, relying on the support of the United States and Western countries, and when the support was reduced, the Ukrainian army quickly showed its decline on the battlefield.
Not so long ago, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Zaluzhny dejectedly admitted that the Ukrainian army was still in a stalemate.
In addition to the reduction of aid, Ukraine is also facing a serious problem of "infighting".
As the war progressed, the prestige of the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Zaluzhny, grew, Zelensky felt threatened, and the contradictions between the two became increasingly apparent, and now this contradiction has been laid out on the surface.
Originally, the battlefield was in decline, and it was also faced with equipment reduction and discord, and Ukraine's defeat was already predictable.
It is no wonder that former CIA analysts began to talk about "Ukraine is losing" in a recognized way, and many high-ranking European and American leaders, represented by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Quinton Brown, began to suggest early peace talks in Ukraine.
Economically, Russia has also withstood the pressure, although Europe and the United States have imposed all-round sanctions on Russia, but Russia's economy has increased instead of falling, fully demonstrating Russia's resilience.
Russia is also very excited about the victory that has been achieved by single-handedly confronting the Western world, and in his speech on November 28, Putin said with great joy: "We have become stronger. ”
In his opinion, Russia's actions against Ukraine have already achieved a major victory, and that is that Russia has regained and consolidated "its sovereignty as a world power."
Europe and the United States interpreted this speech as Russia's self-aggrandizement, saying that it was Putin's belief that Russia had restored its status as a "superpower".
Although this interpretation obviously carries the malicious intent of the hegemonic mentality and Cold War mentality of the United States and the West, it does prove that Russia wants to reshape its influence in the world.
At present, because of the partiality of the United States and Western countries towards Israel in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Middle Eastern countries are generally dissatisfied with the United States and the West.
At such a time, Russia has intervened in the Middle East, conspired with the Middle East, and should also provide some help to the Middle East on the Palestinian-Israeli issue that the Middle East is concerned about, and this is a very effective step for Russia to win the goodwill of Middle Eastern countries.
Moreover, after visiting the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, Putin received Iran** on his return home, which may also have an impact on the current situation in the Middle East.
It is no wonder that when the United States reported the relevant news, it was full of dissatisfaction, but obviously, these are no longer things that the United States and the West can stop.
Information**. Putin's visit to the Middle East and the two countries sent a signal Global Times.
Putin's visit to both countries in the Middle East!Four warplanes escorted the whole process, each carrying four air-to-air missiles Daily Economic News.
Hanhe said that the Su-35 fighter will give the Chinese Air Force a ten-year advantage, reports Xinhuanet.
"Lightning" visited the two countries in the Middle East and received a high-standard reception, and Putin's trip to the Middle East released a signal to Phoenix Satellite TV.
The political situation in many Western countries has changed, and Ukraine's allies are no longer willing to go all out to aid UkraineThe Paper.
The White House warns that aid funds for Ukraine are running out of money, Global Times.
Big business: U.S. military aid to Ukraine has been converted into military investment in dozens of states Bright.com.
German media: Putin believes that Russia has restored its status as a global superpower China Economic Net.