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The Arab Seduction
// It’s suggested that Russia exchange Iran for arms
Yesterday Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin held negotiations with Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Secretary-General of the National Security Council. According to the information of Kommersant, the talks focused on signing big arms contracts and developing business projects in Saudi Arabia with the participation of Russian companies. Lucrative offers can become the cost of Russia’s refusal to back Iran.
Chief of Saudi Arabia’s Security Council Bandar bin Sultan is not the first influential Saudi prince to visit Russia. February, Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs, paid a brief visit to Moscow to conduct negotiations with the then President Vladimir Putin. At that time the prince conveyed a personal message of King Abdullah, where Riyadh expressed its concerns over Iran’s growing impact in the Middle East. The authorities of the kingdom suggested that Moscow should scale down its cooperation with Teheran. In exchange, Saudi Arabia offered beneficial contracts. Actually it was suggested that Russia should let down its key partner in the Middle East. According to the information Kommersant got from the diplomatic circles, in the course of the present visit Bandar bin Sultan specified the offers made before.
Kommersant sources in the defense industry say that concluding an agreement about military and technical cooperation is to become the corner stone of the allied relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia. The latter has shown much interest in concrete armaments: February Riyadh claimed eager to purchase more than 100 BMP-3s (infantry fighting vehicles) for a total of $200 mln, some 150 T-90S tanks for $600 mln and more than 160 Mil Mi-17, Mi-35 and Mi-26 helicopters for a total of $1.6 bln. In connection with Iran’s recent tests of missiles, which can hit targets on the entire territory of the kingdom, Saudi military are particularly interested in different air defense systems. According to the information of Kommersant, recent negotiations have mainly concerned purchases of tanks and helicopters. Most likely, the details of these agreements were thrashed out during the talks in the Kremlin and in the White House especially. The Prime Minister’s Press-Secretary Dmitry Peskov told Kommersant that apart from Vladimir Putin, Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov, who is in charge of the military-industrial complex, and Head of the Rosoboronexport federal state unitary enterprise Anatoly Isaykin took part in the meeting with Bandar bin Sultan.
In the view of experts, developing the arms market of Saudi Arabia, whose military budget is expected to reach $44 bln by 2010, will be quite a success for the Russian military-industrial complex. “This market will never be completely Russian. The USA, Great Britain and France have retained strong positions there,” Konstantin Makienko, expert with CAST (Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies), told Kommersant, “However, if the current dynamics of oil prices keep on, the arms market in the country will grow, so, controlling even 5% of it will truly boost the profits of Russia’s enterprises.”
At the same time, the counterparts are not going to confine themselves to armaments. Dmitry Peskov told Kommersant that one of the major issues discussed during the negotiations in the White House was the future of Russian Railways’ $800 contract to construct a railroad Az Zabirah-Riyadh, which the company got in January. In May the authorities of Saudi Arabia canceled the results of the tender and announced a new one. According to the sources of Kommersant in the diplomatic circles, the reason for it was Russian Railways’ getting a contract in Libya, whom Saudi Arabia has complicated relations with. Nevertheless, Riyadh stated that Russian Railways will be allowed to participate in the second tender. Now the company wants to get the contract back, and it seems to reckon with political support. At least, according to Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Yakunin, Chief of Russian Railways, was present at the negotiations in the White House. It need be added that other bodies, for example Rusal (Russian Aluminium), Roskosmos (Russian Federal Space Agency) and Rosatom (Nuclear Energy State Corporation) have shown interest in Saudi Arabia as well.
Interestingly, Bandar bin Sultan is reputed the Saudi politician to have the closest ties with the current U.S. administration: He worked as Ambassador in Washington during 20 years, and he is a friend of the Bush family. He has especially close relations with Vice President Cheney, the hard-liner regarding Iran. It’s not to be ruled out that the present generous offers to Moscow were coordinated in Washington, which is now especially willing to neutralize Teheran’s allies.
Alexander Gabuev
All the Article in Russian as of July 15, 2008
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