Saudi-Russia Alliance in the Offing?

While it seems a bit easier to contend that Saudi Arabia is playing the ‘Russia card’ to keep the US under pressure, a closer look would suggest that Saudi Arabia and Russia, too, have a lot to gain from Riyadh making such a move.

However, it cannot be said that Saudi Arabia, forced by its own tactical mistakes in the Middle East, has been forced to change its course of action at global level.

Regardless of Saudi Arabia’s central involvement in crushing oil prices in 2014 partly to put unbearable pressure on Russian economy, Moscow has shown its partial willingness to reverse the trend.

While Saudi Arabia and the US have certainly failed to materialize their objectives via-a-vis Russia, it is quite evident that Saudi Arabia’s oil war was not just directed against Russia or Iran; it was equally directed against the US shale oil companies too.

With oil prices continuously falling and hurting Saudi Arabia’s economy a lot and with Russian economy, too, depending heavily on stable oil prices, both countries seem to be developing the kind of “interest” necessary for converting their relationship into an alliance.

(Source: Asia Times, via Russia Insider)