Thursday 30 March 2017 - 11:57
Story Code : 255578
Why Iran-Russia cooperation has the edge over US-Saudi ties
"The relations betweenour two countries demonstrate the development ofour bilateral ties overthe pastyear inthe context ofthe economy and growth intrade and tourism. The decisions which have been made inthe last several months show that we are moving towardmultifaceted development and strategic relations," Rouhani said Tuesday aftermeeting withPutin.
Russia is building a dialogue withIran asthe United States and Saudi Arabia attempt todeepen bilateral ties. Tehran and Riyadh are locked ina permanent conflict and this is why both Middle East countries desire a reliable foreign partner.
However, the rapprochement betweenSaudi Arabia and the US recently stumbled overa $6 billion lawsuit, re-launched againstRiyadh byfamilies who lost their relatives duringthe 9/11 attacks.
The House ofSaud now faces a number ofpotentially criminal charges, including funding terrorist training camps inAfghanistan forAl Qaeda militants, giving "critical logistical support" toAl Qaeda globally, and "actively" rounding upsupport forAl Qaedas "final preparations forthe September 11th Attacks," according tocourt papers.
The collective lawsuit was filed Monday byover 800 victims families withthe Manhattan Federal Court.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump met withSaudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, believed tobe the leading lobbyist ofoil producing companies. Trump reaffirmed support fordeveloping a new US-Saudi program, undertaken byjoint working groups, and its initiatives, worth over $200 billion indirect and indirect investments withinthe next four years.
Money Talks
"The meeting today restored issues totheir right path and initiates a big change inrelations betweenboth countries interms ofpolitical, military, security and economic issues," a senior adviser tothe Deputy Crown Prince was quoted assaying by Reuters.
During the electoral campaign inthe US, Saudi Arabia was amongthe countries criticized byTrump. In an interview withthe New York Times, Trump said: "We protect countries, and take tremendous monetary hits protecting countries. That would include Saudi Arabia, butit would include many other countries, asyou know. We lose monetarily, everywhere."
"Without us, Saudi Arabia wouldnt exist forvery long. It would be, you know, a catastrophic failure withoutour protection," he added.
Of course, Riyadh was concerned aboutthe future ofits relations withWashington underTrump. However, finally economic interests prevailed despitepopulist rhetoric.
Furthermore, US-Saudi relations have been complicated bythe 2016 Justice Against Sponsors ofTerrorism Act (JASTA). The law eliminates immunity forforeign governments inthe US frompotential lawsuits, permitting civil suits toadvance inUS courts if a state is believed tohave aided ina terror attack againstthe US.
The bill was passed byCongress inlate September, overriding a veto fromthen-President Barack Obama. This was the only presidential veto override ofthe Obama administration. The new administration will have todeal withthis sore spot inWashington-Riyadh relations.
Bound toBe Friends
The US and Saudi Arabia have torepair their relations not only because ofmutual economic interests, butalso due tothe fact that their common rival, Iran, is growing its influence inthe Middle East.
In addition, afterinternational sanctions were lifted, Tehran has been actively conquering new markets forits oil and gas products.
According toa recent article inthe Wall Street Journal, Saudi Arabia is losing its leading positions inmajor markets toother oil producers, including Iran.
"In this situation, Moscow is the most optimal partner forIran. There are no political or economic obstacles forbilateral cooperation. This is why Moscow-Tehran cooperation stands outcompared toWashington-Riyadh relations," political analyst Andrey Veselov wrote ina piece forRIA Novosti.
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