WASHINGTON, January 23 (Sputnik) – Death of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Saud will not cause any major shifts in the country's international affairs, domestic or economic policies, experts told Sputnik News Agency.
"Although the late king was considered a reformer of some kind in internal matters of the kingdom, Saudi policy toward the peace process, Iran or the oil issue will probably not change in a dramatic manner," Associate Professor at the History Department of San Francisco State University, an expert on the modern history of the Middle East Maziar Behrooz said.
Executive Director and founder of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia Ali Alyami said that the kingdom is currently in a difficult situation, as its neighbours Yemen, Iraq, Bahrain and Syria have been seeing terrorist activities and civil unrest. This, therefore, might make stability inside the country the main priority for the new king.
"I don't think [international affairs] will change at all. I think [new King Salman] will focus more on stability in Saudi Arabia," Alyami said.
Alyami added that the oil prices will stay the same for a while, pointing that the Saudis currently have less power in Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
"King Salman is more conservative, more religious, and more 'anti-democracy.' So I don't expect too many changes, if anything, the changes might not be very good, especially for the Saudi people," Alyami concluded.
The Saudi Arabian authorities announced Friday that the sixth king of the country Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Saud died at the age of 90. Salman bin Abdulaziz Saud, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, was named the new king in the statement.
