Russia–Saudi Arabia relations
Russia–
Saudi Arabia relations (Russian: Российско-саудовские отношения) (Arabic: العلاقات السعودية الروسية) is the bilateral relationship between
Russia and
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The two countries are referred to as the two petroleum superpowers and account for about a quarter of the world's crude oil production between them.
Saudi Arabia and the Soviet Union
Governor Salman bin Abdulaziz with Vladimir Putin in 2007The first country to establish full diplomatic relations with
the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd (the name of
the Saudi state until
1932) was
the Soviet Union.
The relations began in 1926.
However, relations cooled later on, with
Saudi Arabia closing their legation in
Moscow in
1938 and refusing to reestablish relations. Diplomatic relations were only reestablished after the dissolution of
the Soviet Union and the establishment of the Russian Federation. Despite a lack of relations, about 20 Soviet Muslims were allowed to annually make the Hajj from 1946 until 1990 when liberalization allowed thousands of Soviet Muslims to attend.
Karim Khakimov and Emir Faisal in Moscow in 1932 [Wikipedia]The reason for the deterioration and end of the relations between
Saoudi Arabia and
the SovjetUnion was the execution of the Soviet Consul General
Karim Khakimov, a Soviet Muslim of Tatar descent, during
the Great Purges in
Moscow.
Karim Khakimov as a Muslim had developped good ties with Saoudi King
Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud and his son
Prince Faisal (who became king in 1969). In
September 1937, he was recalled to
Moscow for a routine visit to the foreign ministry, but upon his arrival, he was arrested on suspicion of being a spy. His colleague
Nazir Bey Turyakulov (also a Muslim from the SovjetUnion) who worked with him on
the Saudi file was executed in
October 1937.
Khakimov was executed in
January 1938.
King Abdulaziz was outraged at the news that the two Soviet diplomats whom he considered his friends were killed.
Karim Hakimov in traditional Arab dress [Wikipedia]Two months after
Khakimov was executed in
Moscow,
American geologists discovered the world's largest deposits of crude oil in
Dhahran. This prompted
the Soviet Union to appoint a new head of mission in
Jeddah in
1938.
King Abdulaziz, however, turned the appointment down saying that he does not wish to see anyone other than
Khakimov or
Turyakulov in
Jeddah. He accused
Moscow of
inciting a revolution in the Muslim world and
broke diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union. In September 1938, all remaining
Soviet diplomats left
Jeddah and the mission was shut down. With t
he USSR eliminated as a rival,
Britain and later
the US took over the development and
exploitation of Saudi oil.
Relations were especially strained from
1979, during
the Soviet war in Afghanistan, with
Saudi Arabia supporting the
Afghan jihadis in close cooperation with
the United States.
Russian president Vladimir Putin and minister of defense of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman meet on the sidelines of the 19th St Petersburg Economic Forum, 18 June 2015Saudi Arabia and RussiaRussian President
Vladimir Putin met
King Abdullah in
Riyadh during a high level delegation visit on 11–12 February 2007. It was the first official visit for a Russian leader to the Kingdom. The visit was an opportunity for Moscow to improve its relations with
Riyadh regarding various areas, including regional security issues, energy, trade, transportation, scientific cooperation and exchanges.
King Abdullah's visit to
Russia in 2003, as Crown Prince, was an opening in high level contacts between the countries which did not have diplomatic ties from
1938 until
1990.
Syrian Civil War, military cooperationRelations between the two countries became strained during
the Syrian Civil War, in which
Russia supports Syria′s president
Bashar al-Assad while Saudi Arabia along with
Qatar and
Turkey supports the Syrian rebels.
Saudi Arabia, prior to
Russia′s direct military intervention in
Syria in September 2015, was reported to have sought to use its offer to reduce its oil production in exchange for
Russia dropping its support for Syrian president
Bashar al-Assad, a proposal that
Russia rejected.
In February 2016,
Saudi Arabia offered for the first time to send ground troops to
Syria; a
Saudi official confirmed that
Riyadh had sent
warplanes to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, a move considered as preparation for an incursion into
Syria and seen as inimical to
Russia′s as well as Iran′s interests.
Russia reacted to the reports with public sarcasm alluding to
the Saudi Arabian-led military intervention in Yemen.
Relations improved significantly in 2017 as
Russia′s influence in the Middle East rose following military success in Syria as a result of its
intervention in the Syrian conflict on the side of the Bashar Assad government, on whose removal from power
Saudi Arabia had insisted prior. Military issues were among the topics of discussions held by
Vladimir Putin and
Saudi defence minister deputy crown prince
Mohammed bin Salman in
Moscow on
30 May 2016.
Coordination on oil markets (2016–2017)In early September 2016, following a meeting between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Saudi deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Saudi Arabia, a leading OPEC member, and non-OPEC Russia agreed to cooperate in world oil markets to tackle a global glut, saying they could limit output in the future and signing a joint statement to this effect. Later that year, Russia agreed to join OPEC nations′ commitment to reduce oil output, with cuts taking effect from 1 January 2017 to last for six months; Russian president Vladimir Putin and Saudi deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, along with Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were said to have played a key role in having OPEC rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia set aside differences to make the cartel’s first deal with non-OPEC Russia in 15 years possible.In April 2017, deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman told The Washington Post that the Saudis had been “coordinating [their] oil policies recently” with Moscow in order to convince Russia that Riyadh was a better bet for them than Tehran, the main goal being ″not to have Russia place all its cards in the region behind Iran″.
In May 2017, the two countries agreed to extend the oil production cuts until March 2018.
Saudi King′s visit to Russia (October 2017)
On 4 October 2017, a three-day visit of King of Saudi Arabia
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to
Russia began, the first official trip to
Russia (or
the Soviet Union [the
USSR]) by a reigning
Saudi monarch. The planned visit had been hailed by media as an unexpected rapprochement between the two foes, and by Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry — as "
historic". The sheer fact of the King′s visit was interpreted by American media as suggesting that
the Saudi government, a close ally of
the United States for more than 70 years, was pursuing a more independent role in the
U.S.-
Russian geopolitical rivalry.
On the first day of negotiations, a package of bilateral documents was signed that ranged from oil, military and space exploration. The weapons deals worth three billion dollars to be finalised at the end of October 2017, in line with Saudi Arabia’s bid to localise arms manufacturing, envisaged the possibility of transfer of technology for the local production of Russian Kornet-EM anti-tank missiles, TOS-1A rocket launchers and AGS-30 automatic grenade launchers, the latest version of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, and long-range S-400 missile system. Saudi Arabia agreed to invest one billion dollars in Russian energy projects, and Russian gas processing and petrochemicals company Sibur committed to build a plant in Saudi Arabia in a separate 1.1 bln agreement. Regarding an oil output cut deal extension to the end of 2018 that had been floated as a possibility by Vladimir Putin a day prior to the talks with the King, after the talks the Kremlin stressed that Vladimir Putin had not proposed the extension but allowed it as a possibility, subject to market conditions. Russian media and experts made much of the Saudi foreign minister′s remark about prospects of the Russia sanctions being lifted but also cautioned that real cooperation between the counties had yet to materialise.
Russian president Vladimit Putin and King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in the Kremlin, 5 October 2017.Sources: Wikipedia and Al Jazeera. (Note; 'Al Jazeera is from Qatar, which is in conflict with Saoudi Arabia. Despite that fact the story '
How Moscow lost Riyadh in 1938' is a quite objective one, and not anti-Saoudi. You could call it Sovjet critical)
www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/moscow-lost-riyadh-1938-171014113525997.htmlwww.spla.pro/en/file.film.russian-lawrence-of-arabia-life-and-death-of.13658.html
