Putin's Mideast Meetings Signal Russia's Confidence and Shift in World Opinion - Experts
17:12 GMT 07.12.2023 (Updated: 10:28 GMT 30.01.2024)
© POOL
/ Subscribe
Russian President Vladimir Putin held high-profile meetings in the UAE and Saudi Arabia on December 6, while the next day he welcomed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow. Why are Western media so obsessed with Putin's Mideast talks?
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in the Russian capital on Thursday to hold talks with Vladimir Putin on bilateral cooperation and Middle Eastern matters.
A day earlier, the Russian president visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia where he was met with fanfare, handshakes and warm smiles despite the almost two-year long effort by the West to isolate Moscow on the world stage.
How Did Western Press React to Putin's Trip?
Putin's visit to the Gulf kingdoms has captured the headlines in the Western press — which noted that both the UAE and Saudi Arabia are longstanding US allies.
The Hill concluded that Washington's attempts to isolate Russia and its leader had "failed."
Sky News seemed obsessed with the pomp and ceremony that accompanied Putin's visits, especially when the UAE Air Force's aerobatic team Fursan adorned the sky with the Russian tricolor in Abu Dhabi. The network complained that soldiers on horseback and with camels lined Putin's route in a "conspicuously warm welcome."
The Associated Press even thought it was newsworthy to report that Putin and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman "exchanged a strong handshake and smiles as they walked to their meeting" — a matter of normal diplomatic protocol.
"Vladimir Putin received with great fanfare today in Saudi Arabia, while Macron was unable to go there last weekend, without even any explanation being given to him!" tweeted Florian Philippot, the founder of France's Patriot Party, in response to a report by Le Figaro.
The Financial Times noted that Moscow "enjoys warm relations" with the Gulf kingdoms and is keen to demonstrate it "despite western attempts to force the region to comply with restrictions and sanctions against Russia." The newspaper highlighted that Prince Mohammed and Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan "have developed personal relationships" with the Russian leader.
6 December 2023, 17:03 GMT
What Did Putin Discuss With Gulf Rulers?
The talks encompassed trade, energy cooperation, the Ukraine crisis and Palestine-Israel conflict.
Riyadh and Moscow have agreed to strengthen security cooperation and take efforts to solve the Yemeni and Gaza crises, while Putin "expressed gratitude" to Saudi Arabia for the kingdom's humanitarian and political efforts in the Ukrainian conflict.
"President Putin is in close collaboration with Saudi Arabia, in particular regarding the oil production and how OPEC+ is reducing the oil production and revising every three months this policy to make sure that the price of oil is steady and it is falling into the in the advantage of the oil producing country" Brussels-based veteran war correspondent and a senior political risk analyst Elijah Magnier told Sputnik's Fault Lines podcast.
Putins Riyadh trip was also aimed at "a strengthening of the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Russia, because Saudi Arabia is going to be part of the BRICS at the beginning of the year 2024" — with a similar message delivered in Abu Dhabi.
6 December 2023, 15:06 GMT
The Gaza crisis brought a new dimension to the talks as the conflict clearly demonstrated the erosion of Washington's power in the region, Magnier argued. Washington and the Arab states are on opposite sides in the conflict: while Arab nations demand an immediate ceasefire, Washington is continuing to back Israel's war effort regardless of soaring civilian casualties in Gaza.
The war in Gaza "has weakened tremendously US hegemony by showing a double standard" — which was clear in the Ukraine conflict but now has become "really striking," according to Magnier.
Putin's visit to the UAE and Saudi Arabia coincided with Ukraine's failed counteroffensive and diminishing aid from the West. Ukraine's defeat is also widely perceived as Washington's "weakness", the expert noted, while Russia has demonstrated remarkable resistance despite unprecedented Western sanctions, he added.
"[This is] extremely important for a country like Russia that imposed itself on the international arena. They're showing resilience," Magnier said. "Despite the fact that 50 countries gathered to join forces against Russia, 50 countries gathered to cripple the Russian economy and to demonize Russia, and they have all failed."
What's the Message Behind Putin's Mideast Tour?
Putin's trip "generated confidence" that Russia maintains strong international standing and has a viable economy, Jeremy Kuzmarov, managing editor of CovertAction Magazine, told Sputnik's Final Countdown podcast.
Putin is "trying to show the world that Russia's a player on the world scene, that the sanctions are not going to bring down the Russian economy," Kuzmarov said. Middle East trade is important for Russia since they've lost some of their markets in the West. So he's fortifying those trading ties. The Russian economy is doing reasonably well, even in the face of lots of record sanctions being applied to gain some. So I think that's very important for him to show that and to generate confidence."
The journalist underscored that Putin's Mideast tour occurred at the time of a shift in public perception of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.
"There's a shift in world opinion going on right now," continued Kuzmarov. "Every war is a propaganda war. And I think initially Ukraine maybe was winning the propaganda war. I think a lot of the propaganda has run thin over time. The counteroffensive has failed dismally, people can see that. It was a major blow as [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky was shown in the Canadian parliament, cheering on the [Waffen SS] member from World War Two. I think that was a kind of wake up moment."
"Putin started to look good in the eyes of the world and Zelensky as villain. And I think maybe [Putin] is a hero in some circles of the world standing up to the West. This is really a US proxy war and a Western war, essentially on Russia and the people of eastern Ukraine," the journalist continued.
One reason the West's effort to demonize Russia failed is that the people of the Middle East have long been a target of "Western empires" and they know how the West operates to destroy its rivals, Kuzmarov added.
Meeting With Iran Amid Gaza Escalation
A day after his high-profile visit to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Vladimir Putin met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to discuss economic issues, trade, transportation and BRICS matters.
Like Russia, Iran has also demonstrated economic resilience and has built regional ties in the face of Western sanctions and derailment of the Iran nuclear deal by the previous American administration. Thus, on March 10, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced the normalization of ties brokered by the People's Republic of China (PRC).
The ongoing Gaza crisis has brought together Muslim and Arab nations who are calling for cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip and condemn the US-backed Israel for its bombing campaign in the strip, which has claimed the lives of nearly 16,000 Palestinians. Last month, Iran took part in the extraordinary joint Islamic-Arab summit in Riyadh on the Palestine-Israel conflict.
Putin's meetings with the leaders of the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iran are very timely, Foad Izadi, associate professor at the Department of American Studies at University of Tehran, told Sputnik on Thursday. The resumption of hostilities in the Gaza Strip following a week-long pause is fraught with risk of a wider conflict and requires joint efforts to prevent this potential scenario.
By holding negotiations with three major Middle Eastern players Putin has not only demonstrated Russia's confidence as a political player, but also shown its readiness to enhance economic projects and emphasized Moscow's role as a peace broker.
