Tag: KSA
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Russia, Turkey, L. Paul Bremer III
Saudi-Russia Ties A fair bit of commentary in Okaz on the Kingdom diversifying its relationships by strengthening ties to Russia – to be updated as more comes in. Update [10/17/2019]: Key Themes of Commentary: The Kingdom pursues a flexible foreign policy that balances old relationships with new, pragmatic engagements – explicitly mentioning the U.S. relationship…
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The Eye of the Storm – Abqaiq and Khurais
Given the demands of other work I don’t have time to cover the Saudi media scene at present in depth – suffice to say that coverage of the (almost certainly but not conclusively Iranian-backed) attacks on oil facilities at Abqaiq seems somewhat muted from inside the Kingdom, and there being less of a tense atmosphere…
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Bridging the Gap(s)? (Updated 9/1)
The anti-Houthi coalition has witnessed layers of recriminations over the past couple of weeks: the STC accusing the UN-recognized Hadi government as corrupt and incompetent, thereby justifying the STC’s takeover in the South the Hadi government accusing the STC and the UAE of acting in concert to create a fait accompli of Southern secession Emirati…
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The UAE and its leadership are a red line, yet…
The latest flare-up of KSA-UAE tensions regarding Yemen appears to have come to something of a close with Dubai police chief Dhahi Khalfan, a major instigator behind a series of international Twitter spats over the weekend, opting to take a 10-day Twitter sabbatical. While it remains to be seen whether Dhahi Khalfan keeps to his…
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KSA-UAE: Yemen, Hadi and the STC (8/23-25)
A range of reporting and analysis (Tim Lister for CNN, Alex Stark at FP, Taylor Luck for CSM) has focused on the mounting tensions in the UAE-Saudi coalition to restore Yemen’s UN-recognized government to power. Efforts by the UAE-trained and –backed Southern Transitional Council to seize power in Southern Yemen (with the apparent acquiescence of…
The Bitter Lake 