Historical relations between the arab gulf countries and Russia

Abstract

Russia began making contact with Gulf States back in 1932, when the USSR became one of the
first countries that formally recognized Saudi Arabia and established diplomatic relations with the state.
Shortly after, due to the change in the Soviets’ party line (conversion to a new ideology and development
of a moderate stance towards regional conflicts), the relations were suspended. The aggravation of
international relations in the region was also the result of the competition between the Great Powers, and
their respective political ambition. In the light of “West—East” political-military confrontation, the Soviet
Union took immediate interest in the latest regional developments.
This article used descriptive approach to the specificity of the problem of the study, which aims to
study relations and differences, where this method is concerned with the study of what is the object and
interpretation and determine the relationships between the facts.
The results of the study reached that Russia is one of the largest oil and gas producers in the world,
and the largest oil exporter outside OPEC, as it usually seeks to maintain high energy prices despite tensions
and conflicts in the Middle East, as it has caused huge losses to the economy of the Gulf countries
due to lower oil prices. The volume of trade exchange between Russia and the countries of the Cooperation
Council is very low compared to the Gulf’s trade relations with China. This may be due to the fact
that Russia is futile in trade, although the latter is working to correct this deficit, but the desired results
may take some time.
In the changing world, Moscow’s allies are not necessarily Washington’s foes, and vice versa. Cooperation
between Russia and Gulf States is based on their shared interests, in particular, fighting international
terrorism.
Key words: Russia, Arabian Gulf, GCC, Syria, Saudi Arabia, UAE, international relations, oil.