The US Leaves the Middle East while Russia fills the Vacuum
As the United States prepares to leave Afghanistan, Riyadh has signalled that it is ready to diversify its defence relationshipsCaptain-General Alexander Fomin, Russia’s Deputy Defence Minister, and I signed an agreement to develop joint military cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the Russian Federation; Prince Khalid Bin Salman Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Defence Minister wrote on social media.He also stated that he had “met with Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu to explore ways to strengthen the military and defence cooperation and discussed our common endeavour to preserve stability and security in the region.”The Biden Administration is pulling approximately eight Patriot batteries from countries including Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence, or THAAD, is being withdrawn from Saudi Arabia. Jetfighter squadrons assigned to the region are being reduced.
