Saudi Arabia’s long -term goal of hosting US -Russian negotiations

Saudi Arabia’s hosting to an important meeting to close US-Rossia relations shows the country’s call for a successful mediation for international conflicts, one of which is to strengthen Riyadh’s leverage in the post-war Gaza negotiations. .

A Saudi official told CNN that Saudi Arabia expects Saudi Arabia to play a role beyond hosting a mediating role with today’s US -Russian summit. Saudi Arabia’s national security adviser will head the negotiating team.

The talks, according to the Kremlin Palace spokesman Dmitry Peskov, are “in general” and Russia, mainly a victory for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He seeks to transform this country rich in oil and transform it into a country that can gain soft power from its great wealth.

Saudi analyst Ali Shahabi says, “I don’t think there is another place where Ben Salman can have a good relationship with both Trump and Putin. The event contributes to Saudi Arabia’s reputation and reputation and increases its soft power in the region and the world.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has led the Saudi Crown Prince’s program to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy alongside its oil industry, with the hope of attracting billions of investments to realize the “prospects”.

In the same vein, Ben Salman has retreated from the country after years of war with Yemen and is improving relations with Iran, its regional rival, while maintaining close relations with the West, with China and Russia.

Friendship with Trump and Putin

In addition to hosting boxing competitions and electronic music festivals, Saudi Arabia has sought to present an image of itself as a global reconcilor by hosting events to collect humanitarian aid and peace conferences; Riyadh hosted a two -day conference on Ukrainian peace on August 7 with the participation of representatives of more than 5 countries (without Russia) and in February of that year to $ 5 million.

Ben Salman’s role as an influential figure in negotiations arising from his close relations with US President Donald Trump, among the young crown prince after the assassination of Jamal Khashiqji, a dual US-Saudi reporter, by the Washington newspaper. He supported him.

Trump, in year 6, broke the tradition and chose Saudi Arabia as the first destination for US presidential trip. Although Trump failed to win the election, Saudi Arabia maintained close relations with him and invested $ 2 billion in a company that Jerard Kouchner is headed by Trump’s head and plans to build Trump towers in Saudi Arabia. Announced.

The Saudi Crown Prince also has close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also refused to isolate him after Khashiqi’s assassination. Ben Salman refused to pressure the West to rejected Moscow after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and have been working closely with Putin to control world oil supply, and even opposed the request of former US President Joe Biden to increase oil production. Russia supported. Putin traveled to Saudi Arabia in 2008 and supported Riyadh to join the Brix group, which intends to counter US economic influence.

Analysts say maintaining balance in Saudi Arabia’s relations in a world that has become increasingly polarized has been useful. US Special Representative Steve Witekaf said Ben Salman had a “key role” in the release of US citizen Mark Fogel from Russia’s arrested last week. Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates, has also performed successful in the mediation of war prisoners and prisoners between Ukraine and Russia.

Yesterday, Witakaf met with US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Foreign Minister Marco Rubio in Riyadh with Ben Salman. Their meeting was held the day before their talks began with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Putin’s assistant Yuri Oshakov and the Russian Director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

Ukraine is not present in the talks, but Ukraine President Walodimir Zelnsky, who has traveled to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, said he will go to Saudi officials this week to negotiate with Saudi officials.

In the meantime, European authorities, who are concerned about dismissing Ukrainian peace talks with the US government, held an emergency meeting in Paris yesterday to coordinate the US -Russian talks in Riyadh.

Gaza issue, Riyadh’s long -term goal of mediation in Ukrainian peace talks

Saudi Arabia may invest in its role as the mediator of US and Russian negotiations to focus on an important regional issue that the US President’s controversial plan for Gaza’s ownership and mandatory migration of its people to convert it It is to a tourist coastal area. Trump has suggested that Jordan and Egypt host the people of Gaza, though the two countries have rejected it with their security and economic considerations.

Other Arab countries have also opposed the offer. A meeting will be held in Saudi Arabia at the end of this week to discuss a mutual proposal before Trump.

Hassan al -Hassan, a senior member of the West Asian politics department at the Bahraini International Strategic Studies School, said: “Saudi Arabia facilitates Donald Trump’s goal of ending the Ukrainian war, in a good position to create good faith in Washington. It has. Riyadh, who is also set to host an Arab meeting on Friday, can use the increase in influence with the Trump administration to help resolve disputes between the US and the Arab states over the fate of Gaza.

In the next four years, we may see Ben Salman count on his close friendship with Trump, but he may still find himself in difficult positions in the balance between his regional interests and hostile demands by the US trader. .

Trump tends to normalize Saudi-Zionist Saudi-Ruzim relations, but it will be politically unacceptable among the rise of West Asian anger over the Zionist war crimes in Gaza.

Saudi Arabia emphasized in a statement in early February and said: “As we have said to US governments before, it is impossible to achieve sustainable peace without obtaining its legitimate rights under international resolutions.”

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