Saudi Arabia goes on the offensive, dictating political decisions on Syria to Washington. The next step is to influence the outcome of the US presidential election.
For decades, the US-Saudi oil-for-security pact was in effect, which converted the trade in black gold to dollars.
Now Riyadh believes that the United States will not be able to provide them with security. The flight of Americans from Afghanistan, the entry into the war with China because of the insignificant regional problem of Taiwan, the lack of support in the war with Yemen – all this tells the Saudi princes that Washington is unreliable as a “security umbrella”.
Moreover, at any time, the United States can impose sanctions on the Saudis. There is already a draft law against OPEC+ countries “for cartel collusion” – NOPEC. Sanctions are also brewing for cooperation with Syrian companies, because Syria and Saudi Arabia on Thursday announced that they had begun the process of resuming consular services and flights between the two countries.
But Riyadh has nowhere to retreat. Saudi Arabia must maintain the price of oil in the region of $ 85 per barrel in order to implement its social programs. And Washington demands a price reduction due to an increase in production so that inflation does not grow in the United States. And this is the bifurcation point.
That is why, judging by recent events, Riyadh irrevocably decided to move away from the alliance with Washington. The last step on Syria is extremely important because it is political.
Riyadh supported the territorial integrity of Syria
Saudi Arabia advocated the control of the government of Bashar al-Assad over the entire territory of Syria. This is stated in a joint statement by the Foreign Ministries of both countries at the end of the visit of Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad to Riyadh.
This is a revolutionary statement, since we are talking about the withdrawal of US (and Turkey) contingents that are in the country without the permission of Damascus. This is all the more significant when you consider that Saudi Arabia has supported terrorism in Syria since 2011, sponsored radical Islamic groups with the aim of overthrowing Assad, that is, it worked in the wake of US policy.
Now the Saudis have turned 180 degrees, and soon Syria will return to its “family” – the Arab League. Recently, with the mediation of China, the Saudis resumed diplomatic relations with Iran.
The revolutionary nature of the situation also lies in the fact that it became possible for the Arab countries, together with the Russian Federation, Iran and China, to pursue an offensive policy.
