Following the recent visit of Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Defense Minister to Russia and the signing of a military agreement, analysts saw the move as a tacit message from Riyadh to the United States about an alternative to the country.
The recent military deal between Riyadh and Moscow has caught the attention of many analysts as Saudi-US relations are said to have weakened.
Al-Akhbar newspaper begins its report today in this regard: “Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has a famous saying he made long before he was overthrown: ‘Those who cover themselves with the United States are naked.’ “Perhaps in recent years, the Saudis have tried this more than anyone else.”
The news continued: “In light of the great [current] change that the United States is fleeing from Afghanistan, perhaps Muhammad bin Salman wanted Washington to be prepared to defend the Saudi regime against internal and external dangers, and at the same time to try to exploit this chaos in order to achieve his enduring goal of gaining US approval to be on the throne. Therefore, his brother Khalid sent Deputy Defense Minister to Moscow to sign a military cooperation agreement with the Russians; the agreement is seen as sending a signal to the United States that there is an alternative.”
The Lebanese newspaper continues: “When Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, Saudi Arabia celebrated the victory of its ally, the United States. They had the “right” to do so because of their definite participation in it, which was done by sending “Mujahideen” and financing the war. Now, according to Joe Biden, Riyadh is turning to Moscow to seek help from its old enemy and sign a military cooperation agreement with the United States, after the US era is over and the country is fleeing the country expelling the occupiers. Slow; “An agreement that the two sides deliberately did not disclose.”
For some time now, Riyadh has decided to establish friendly relations with Moscow and a number of countries; Countries that in the past were considered enemies or had to be hostile to. Saudi Arabia’s new approach has been accompanied by a gradual decline in US attention to the country; But this relationship remains limited and has its own specific functions, the most important of which are Riyadh’s implicit reference to the Americans as an alternative; Despite the fact that Saudi Arabia already knows that the nature of its reliance on the United States makes such a decision entirely in the hands of the United States.
The Lebanese newspaper added that despite the fact that Riyadh-Washington relations are currently at the lowest level in their history; but the possible purchase of weapons from Russia is unlikely to exceed the US-set ceiling for Saudi Arabia. If the Saudis had the power to do so, they would have found alternatives to US support or supplements long before that; But the United States is in the hands of Saudi officials and will not allow them to go wherever they want; Even if Washington wants to leave the Gulf! Because this relationship is so fundamental that it is almost impossible to get rid of it, for example, more than eighty percent of Saudi Arabia’s weapons are American, and any practical effort to diversify sources of firearms purchases will be considered if that happens. Nevertheless, the United States remains concerned that Russia and China may use any loopholes to remove more of the arms deal cake.
Al akhbar wrote: “Bin Salman’s problem is that since Joe Biden came to power, he has remained in the same circle and wants to make sure that the Biden administration accepts him as king, while Washington does not even accept the abandonment of his legal cases in the United States; Cases that may see progress in the coming weeks, such as the unveiling of 9/11 documents that show Riyadh was involved in the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, and the risk that Riyadh will be forced to pay compensation to the families of the 3,000 killed.”
It added: “The Crown Prince knows that the United States is not only refusing to support him, but may not be ready to defend its system, especially in the face of internal threats, even if they are external threats; Threats such as the Muslim Brotherhood movement targeting Saudi Arabia or threats from dissidents within the Crown Prince; A crown prince who came to power with the support of former US President Donald Trump and faced unpleasant facts after his defeat in the [US] election; Facts such as the atmosphere of opposition in the United States against Saudi Arabia and the Crown Prince himself, which has continued to rise since the 9/11 attacks.”
Al akhbar added: “But the story of defending the Saudi regime or defending bin Salman against domestic threats is a matter for the Americans alone, and at the moment it is not up to Israel to enter, except with the consent of the United States and Saudi Arabia. If the Americans really want an exit from the Middle East and this creates a security vacuum, it will depend on the form of this exit, its extent, and what to do next, including a return to a nuclear deal with Iran that might allow action. Include measures of relations between the countries of the region. What is certain is that the Americans want to reduce the burden of costs such as supporting this or that system.”
Al akhbar concluded: “The nature of Saudi Arabia’s agreement with the Russians on the quality of weapons, its price, the security agreements annexed to this agreement could have been revealed – if any – to answer many questions; But announcing an agreement at such a time could not be part of a message to the Americans that such suspended cases would be filed with the United States! Especially since Khalid bin Salman (the younger brother of the Saudi Crown Prince) himself personally traveled to Washington last July; A trip that was considered a substitute for the Crown Prince’s unpleasant trip to the White House; “But this trip did not seem to bring much.”