Some in Washington consider the new ties a threat to US dominance in the Middle East. But the Obama administration sees this as an opportunity to engage with Moscow to normalize the situation in the Middle East, the article read.
Last Friday, US State Secretary John Kerry convened a meeting in Vienna between the foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. During the talks, Kerry expressed hope that the four countries could work together to settle the Syrian crisis.
"But while Kerry focused on convincing Russia to join with the West, Putin has been working to convince America’s Middle East allies that Moscow is the new power in the region," according to the article.
Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s former ambassador to the US and former intelligence chief, said Russian President Vladimir Putin has outmaneuvered the US in Syria and Russia’s position demands attention and respect.
Last week, Russia also struck an agreement with Jordan to coordinate military actions against the Islamic State (ISIL) militant group in Syria.
American allies who are not active in multilateral diplomacy over Syria have also been developing closer ties with Moscow, the authors underscored in the article for Bloomberg View.
This month, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Putin, Israel established a hotline with the Russian Defense Ministry to avoid an accidental confrontation between their forces. After Egyptian President Abdel el-Sisi visited Putin in August he pledged Egypt would cooperate with Moscow against ISIL.
