At a time when US aid to Ukraine is in trouble, Russia's Putin has seized the opportunity to launch an amazing Middle East diplomacy. Ignoring the "arrest warrant" of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, he courageously visited two important US allies in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Putin's move is undoubtedly a major challenge to the US strategy in the Middle East.
After visiting Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Putin quickly returned to Moscow and held talks with Iranian Raisi.
Such a diplomatic trip, completed in 48 hours, is very rare. It is rare not only in the history of Russia's diplomacy, but also in the history of the world's diplomacy.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the core allies of the United States in the Middle East and the key fulcrum of the United States' "Middle East strategy". Their close contact with Russia is clearly a dissatisfaction and warning to Biden.
Iran, on the other hand, is a long-term "enemy" of the United States, and its relations with Russia have always been relatively friendly.
Recently, Iran's position in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has caused a headache for the United States. Now, the talks between Putin and Raisi have added fuel to the fire of the US Middle East policy.
We do not know what Putin and the leaders of these three Middle Eastern countries talked about and what agreements they reached. But Putin's assertive diplomatic gesture alone is enough to make the United States uneasy.
What is the profound meaning of Putin's "Middle East diplomatic combination fist"? We can analyze it from three aspects.
First, Putin wants to increase Russia's influence and voice in Middle East affairs by strengthening consensus with Middle Eastern countries. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is an issue of greatest concern in the Middle East. As a global power and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia wants to play a greater role in this issue.
Second, Putin wants to break the isolation and containment of Russia by the West by stepping up diplomacy in the Middle East. Since the Ukraine crisis began, the United States has been co-opting allies and pressuring countries in the Global South to try to isolate Russia entirely. But now, the United States has to deal with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Ukraine crisis at the same time, and has no time to think about anything else. Putin seized the opportunity just right.
Third, Putin wants to deepen and expand mutually beneficial cooperation with Middle Eastern countries and expand interests in the Middle East. In the past, Russia's main ally in the Middle East was Syria, while Iran and Turkey were partners. Their cooperation with the Saudis is primarily based on commercial interests, not geopolitical interests, and the UAE is no different.
After the meeting between Putin and the Saudi crown prince, the Kremlin issued a joint statement by the leaders of Russia and Saudi Arabia. The statement said that the two countries agreed to strengthen defense cooperation, and at the same time are ready to further expand cooperation between the two countries in the field of oil and gas in order to safeguard the common interests of Russia and Saudi Arabia.
In fact, since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, Biden has been dissatisfied with the Middle East allies of the United States. Instead of following the United States in imposing sanctions on Russia, these allies have also worked with Russia to manipulate international oil prices, causing heavy losses to those European allies of the United States who have followed the sanctions against Russia. Now, Putin's series of diplomatic moves have hit the crux of the US Middle East strategy.
Although Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Arab countries will not openly oppose the United States, and Putin's trip to the Middle East is unlikely to change the situation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, this does not mean that this "lightning" visit is meaningless. Putin's visit to Saudi Arabia and other countries is, on the one hand, a sign that the West's diplomatic blockade of Russia has failed, and on the other hand, it is also a hint that the political influence of the United States in the Middle East is declining.
We can foresee that Biden's life in the Middle East may be even more difficult!