British analyst explains why West Eastern countries stayed neutral during Russia, Ukraine conflict.
In a geopolitical article, a British analyst cited exploitation as well as hostility to the United States as reasons for West Asian states to take a stand on the Ukraine crisis.
In an article by Christopher Phillips, professor of international relations at Queen Mary University of London, Middle East Online looks at the position of West Asian countries on the Ukraine war and Russia’s military operations in the country, and why this Countries have generally taken a neutral approach.
“During the UN General Assembly vote, the major West Asian countries, with the exception of Syria, either voted against Russia or preferred to abstain, but none joined the Western boycott of Moscow,” the statement said. These governments have never been as hostile to the United States as Iran, but countries such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates are Washington’s allies in the Middle East.
In doing so, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates opposed the US request to increase oil production to stabilize rising prices as a result of the Ukraine war, raising questions about their “negative neutrality.”
“The geopolitical factor is one of the reasons why these countries are moving towards such behavior,” Phillips added. Some argue that no country in the region, except Syria, has endorsed Russia’s actions. Some say the events show Washington’s failure to persuade its allies to stage a coup against Putin, which reflects the West’s decline in the region.
All of these conflicting views can be true, but none of them should be exaggerated, so that although the West’s power in the region has diminished, a complete withdrawal of the West from the region is very unlikely, and the US allies in the Persian Gulf continue their security strategy. Based on the continued presence of the United States in its bases. “If Russia can get out of Ukraine successfully and Ukraine does not become a catastrophe for Putin, it can be a major player in the Middle East for a while, but Russia’s investment in the region is much smaller than in the United States and is limited to a few bases in Syria.”
