‘Saudi Arabia Is Unhappy With Putin For Two Reasons’

Another blow for the Kremlin boss.

The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, has not accepted an invitation to attend the BRICS summit, which will take place on October 22-24 in Kazan.

What could be the reason for this position? harter97.org spoke with a well-known Ukrainian political scientist, head of the Penta Center for Applied Political Research, Volodymyr Fesenko:

— Considering the specifics and personality of the Crown Prince, anything could be there. And things we don't know about. But I would highlight two reasons. The first and most likely is the current conflict of interests between Saudi Arabia and the Russian Federation.

The fact is that Russia is increasing oil production and violating agreements that were previously made to restrain this production and keep the price of oil fairly high.

Saudi Arabia is already showing dissatisfaction with this fact. They believe that the Russians are now hitting their interests, so this is a demonstration of dissatisfaction with Putin's actions.

The second reason: Saudi Arabia is trying to find a balance in its relations with both the Russian Federation and the West. This can also work, although I think the main reason is the first one.

— How painful is this decision for the Russian authorities, who called the summit in Kazan “the most significant foreign policy event” in Russian history?

— Of course, this is unpleasant for Putin. This is a blow and a crack in the reputation of the summit in Kazan, but for Putin, the main thing now is that this summit takes place. It is much more important for him now to find agreements and, let's say, ensure the necessary dialogue with China and India. After all, there are also contradictions there, at least between China and India. It is also necessary to find a balance of interests with Turkey. In general, they will make a propaganda show out of the summit.

As for the Saudi Arabian Energy Minister threatening that the country could bring the price of a barrel down to $50, yes, such a risk potentially exists — if Saudi Arabia acts very consistently and sharply, significantly increasing oil production and its sale on foreign markets.

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