Amid armed conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas Movement in Gaza, Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin made a dramatic visit to the Gulf on December 6, 2023 mainly to meet the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Experts are of the opinion that the Russian strongman's separate meetings with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE ruler Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, respectively, are diplomatically important. And on December 7, President Putin hosted his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow. According to political analysts, the Russian President's recent interactions with the three Gulf leaders have brought the Kremlin into the mainstream of West Asian affairs, affirming that the Sino-Russian alliance would certainly challenge the US hegemony in that region.
It may be noted that a couple of days after Putin's Gulf visit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov warned the West, stressing that its "500-year domination of the world" was all set to come to an end. The Foreign Minister claimed that the Ukraine War made his country stronger, in spite of the West's attempt to weaken Russia in its backyard. Meanwhile, he recalled that Russia had become stronger after defeating Adolf Hitler and Napoleon in the past. Speaking at an Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Conference, Lavrov stated that the hybrid war in Ukraine was based on cancel culture, adding that it was up to the Ukrainians to recognise "how deep they are in the hole where the Americans put them". He further said: "We are not seeing any signals from Kiev or its masters about their readiness to seek any kind of political settlement."
Although neither Putin nor Lavrov made any comment on the Israeli atrocities in Gaza, political observers have opined that President Putin's visit to the UAE, a military ally of the US and a friend of the UK, and Saudi Arabia is a significant one. They believe that Moscow is trying to corner Israel diplomatically. While Russia has warned Israel that destroying Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip would amount to war crime if pursued, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 'Bibi' Netanyahu slammed Moscow's anti-Israel positions over the Gaza War at the UN.
The Kremlin has claimed that President Putin's lightning one-day tour to the Gulf was successful, as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) recently reached a consensus on oil production cuts. Earlier, the US and its Western allies had imposed restrictions on Russian oil exports because of the Ukraine War. In such a scenario, the issue of oil production and export gained importance during President Putin's meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In a separate development, senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has sought brave Pakistan's help to stop Israel from bombing Gaza. Pakistan's Geo News reported on December 7 that Haniyeh recently visited Islamabad to attend a conference. During his stay in the Pakistani capital, the senior Hamas leader met the top political leadership of the South Asian nation, and urged them to come forward in order to prevent the Israeli attacks. Later, Haniyeh told the Pakistani media that Israel violated international law by attacking Gaza and killing more than 16,000 Palestinians. He further warned that all the Islamic nations would snap diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv if Israel continued to kill innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip. According to Haniyeh, Pakistan, as a strong nation, can end the violence by resisting the Israeli atrocities.
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