La visite du roi Salman d’Arabie en Russie, annonc\u00e9e comme importante<\/a>, s’av\u00e8re l’\u00eatre d’une fa\u00e7on superlative, c’est-\u00e0-dire autant comme un symbole que comme un facteur essentiel mesurant le nouveau rapport d’influences au Moyen-Orient. Nous pr\u00e9f\u00e9rons en effet employer cette expression (\u00ab\u00a0rapport d’influences\u00a0\u00bb)<\/strong> plut\u00f4t que le classique \u00ab\u00a0rapport de forces\u00a0\u00bb, simplement pour marquer l’\u00e9vidence que l’influence, aujourd’hui où la communication joue un r\u00f4le si essentiel, est effectivement le facteur d\u00e9terminant<\/strong>. Nous ne sommes plus dans une \u00e8re g\u00e9opolitique, mais dans une \u00e8re que nous qualifions de \u00ab\u00a0psychopolitique<\/a>\u00ab\u00a0. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Dans le cas russe, la force (l’intervention russe en Syrie) n’a pas \u00e9t\u00e9 et n’est pas un facteur direct de pression sur les diff\u00e9rents acteurs pour les faire se tourner vers Moscou, mais un facteur indirect renfor\u00e7ant l’influence, l’attraction que Moscou exerce sur eux<\/strong>. Le rapport est moins celui de la contrainte qu’une puissance exerce sur une autre (la force) que celui de la d\u00e9monstration \u00e0 laquelle une autre puissance est sensible (influence)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n De ce point de vue, le facteur saoudien est encore plus important et convainquant. Il n’est pas temps ni int\u00e9ressant de tirer la conclusion que l’Arabie est d\u00e9sormais une \u00ab\u00a0alli\u00e9e de Moscou\u00a0\u00bb, encore moins \u00ab\u00a0une amie de Moscou\u00a0\u00bb, d’autant que ces termes ont une valeur tr\u00e8s relative en diplomatie, encore plus lorsque l’influence et la communication tiennent la place qu’ils tiennent. Au contraire, au niveau du symbole qui est, lui, une mesure extr\u00eamement importante de l’influence, il y a eu un acte fondamental<\/strong>. La d\u00e9monstration en est faite avec le volet des accords pass\u00e9s qui concerne l’armement. Il s’agit du domaine-clef, depuis 1945, de l’exclusivit\u00e9 des liens des anglo-saxons (US surtout, UK derri\u00e8re), de la France plus r\u00e9cemment et de fa\u00e7on suppl\u00e9tive, dans tous les cas rapports d’exclusivit\u00e9 des liens de s\u00e9curit\u00e9 de l’Arabie avec le bloc-BAO. Cette exclusivit\u00e9 est mise en cause structurellement par l’accord russo-saoudien<\/strong>, portant sur des syst\u00e8mes importants et structurants (les missiles sol-air S-400) et des perspectives de coop\u00e9ration (promesse de l’aide russe pour le d\u00e9veloppement des technologies permettant le d\u00e9veloppement d’une industrie saoudienne d’armement).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n On ne pr\u00eatera pas trop d’importance imm\u00e9diate \u00e0 la situation du point de vue factuelle, voire aux perspectives, tout cela demandant \u00e0 \u00eatre concr\u00e9tis\u00e9. Mais le symbole est consid\u00e9rable pour ce qui est du message que les Saoudiens envoient aux USA et au bloc-BAO, qui est la signification d’un constat d’ores et d\u00e9j\u00e0 fait et confirm\u00e9, bien plus qu’une pr\u00e9diction ou un moyen de pression, ou une menace<\/strong> : \u00ab\u00a0Il est un fait que vous n’\u00eates plus les maîtres-tuteurs de la r\u00e9gion, et cela a et aura des cons\u00e9quences structurelles sur nos relations\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Bien entendu, ce m\u00eame domaine de l’armement est utilis\u00e9 dans le texte de ZeroHedge.com<\/em> du 5 octobre 2017, repris ci-dessous, pour mesurer le triomphe de la Russie au Moyen-Orient au moment de la marque symbolique du deuxi\u00e8me anniversaire<\/strong> du d\u00e9but de l’intervention russe en Syrie, par ailleurs illustr\u00e9 de fa\u00e7on opportune par des succ\u00e8s d\u00e9cisifs sur le terrain. Curieusement, les Russes ont d\u00e9montr\u00e9 en Syrie un peu le contraire de ce qu’ils plaident inlassablement depuis cinq ans, savoir que la force ne peut \u00eatre le moyen de r\u00e9soudre la crise. Certes, le succ\u00e8s russe engendrant le renouveau d\u00e9cisif de la puissance de l’arm\u00e9e syrienne ne cl\u00f4t certainement pas le conflit, mais il a \u00e9t\u00e9 l’outil de son basculement fondamental qui permet de croire \u00e0 la possibilit\u00e9 d’un apaisement<\/strong> dont les Russes seraient les tuteurs absolument n\u00e9cessaires. ZeroHedge.com <\/em>r\u00e9sume donc cette situation nouvelle par cette observation ironique :<\/p>\n<\/p>\n « Cela signifie qu’apr\u00e8s l’Iran et la Turquie, la machine de guerre russe s’est \u00e9tendue vers Ryad, qui avait pourtant encore command\u00e9 des syst\u00e8mes d’arme US pour des centaines de $milliards cet \u00e9t\u00e9<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n » Isra\u00ebl est-il le prochain sur la liste des acheteurs d’armements russes ?<\/em> »<\/p>\n<\/p>\n L’observation est ironique mais la question ne l’est pas uniquement. Notre avis est qu’il existe une r\u00e9elle possibilit\u00e9 que de telles relations s’\u00e9tablissent entre la Russie et Isra\u00ebl, au niveau des armements<\/strong>, les liens entre les deux pays ayant la complexit\u00e9 que l’on sait et la d\u00e9marche russe pouvant \u00e9ventuellement cr\u00e9er une situation compl\u00e8tement nouvelle au Moyen-Orient. D’autre part, le moment est, comment dirait-on, – opportun ? Bien entendu, ceci contribuant \u00e0 expliquer cela : la direction politique US est dans un \u00e9tat si extraordinaire d’impuissance et de parcellisation qu’elle pourra difficilement se regrouper et riposter. (Ph\u00e9nom\u00e8ne \u00ab\u00a0D.C.-la-folle\u00a0\u00bb derri\u00e8re un pr\u00e9sident produisant son d\u00e9sordre de star<\/em> de la t\u00e9l\u00e9r\u00e9alit\u00e9, avec l’illustration de ce constat de Margareta Simonian, de RT<\/a> : « Il n’y a plus d\u00e9sormais un seul Washington D.C., il y a de nombreux petits Washington D.C. travaillant les uns contre les autres. <\/em>»)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Il est assez probable que les USA seront encore plus r\u00e9duits \u00e0 la d\u00e9fensive<\/strong>, tentant de garder ce qui leur reste de pressions bureaucratique et corruptrice pour conserver ce qui deviendrait leur \u00ab\u00a0part de march\u00e9\u00a0\u00bb en Arabie (plut\u00f4t que leur march\u00e9 exclusif), mais le temps est pass\u00e9 où ils pouvaient faire revenir un alli\u00e9 r\u00e9calcitrant dans \u00ab\u00a0le droit chemin\u00a0\u00bb des achats exclusifs d’armement US<\/strong>. On a d\u00e9j\u00e0 compris cela avec l’ent\u00eatement turc pour acheter les m\u00eame S-400 malgr\u00e9 les pressions formidables de l’OTAN contre cette d\u00e9marche.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n C’est-\u00e0-dire que le succ\u00e8s de Poutine et de la Russie est complet, au point où l’on peut parler de \u00ab\u00a0triomphe\u00a0\u00bb<\/strong>. Dans tous les cas, la position russe est originale : il ne s’agit nullement de domination, avec une attitude active, sinon agressive, avec les jeux de contraintes et d’affirmation h\u00e9g\u00e9monique. L’attention est port\u00e9e d’abord aux int\u00e9r\u00eats russes, avec le seul souci de participer \u00e0 la maîtrise d’une situation que la Russie juge tr\u00e8s dangereuse pour la r\u00e9gion et, par extension, pour elle-m\u00eame bient\u00f4t si rien n’avait \u00e9t\u00e9 fait et ne continue \u00e0 \u00eatre fait ; cette d\u00e9marche suppose par cons\u00e9quent une intervention qui doit \u00eatre faite dans les cadres l\u00e9gaux et paraître le moins possible h\u00e9g\u00e9moniste.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n C’est donc \u00ab\u00a0sur leur m\u00e9rite\u00a0\u00bb que les Russes ont construit en 3-4 ans une \u00e9norme base d’influence<\/strong>, en attirant \u00e0 eux des acteurs \u00e9puis\u00e9s par le d\u00e9sordre produit par les USA, le bloc-BAO et le Syst\u00e8me. Le triomphe de Poutine est m\u00e9rit\u00e9, mais il est d’abord logique et conforme \u00e0 la raison face \u00e0 la folie progressiste-soci\u00e9tale du bloc-BAO<\/strong> ; on esp\u00e8re simplement, pour leur fortune, que les Russes ne changeront pas d’attitude, que leur succ\u00e8s ne leur fera pas perdre le sens de la mesure et cette esp\u00e8ce de modestie qu’ils mettent assez naturellement dans leur attitude diplomatique en la tenant strictement dans le cadre des normes d’un monde multipolaire, \u00e0 c\u00f4t\u00e9 d’une fermet\u00e9 remarquable dans l’action.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Ci-dessous, le texte de ZeroHedge.com <\/em>du 5 octobre 2017<\/a>, sign\u00e9 Tyler Durden, avec le titre modifi\u00e9 pour des raisons techniques. (Titre original : « Russia, Saudi Arabia Announce Billons In Energy, Military Deals, During Historic King Salman Visit<\/em>. »)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n ________________________<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Two days ago, when we previewed the first ever visit by a Saudi King to the Russian capital <\/a>– a move which prompted Bloomberg to call Russian president Putin the "new master of the Middle East<\/a>" – we pointed out that according to Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, a joint Russian-Saudi fund to invest in the energy sector will be announced during the forthcoming visit of the Saudi King to Moscow, and that the preliminary agreement to establish the $1 billion fund has already been reached.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Fast forward to today when diplomatic history was made on Thursday, when Putin met with the King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud – the first state visit to Russia by a reigning Saudi monarch – and the launch of a new level of relations between the countries<\/strong>, as well as billions in new energy-focused deals (for more on the strategic implications from the summit, please read this<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Saudi monarch’s visit comes after decades of strained relations. More recently, tensions were high over the war in Syria. Russia and Iran have staunchly backed Syrian President Assad while Saudi Arabia has supported the Sunni rebels fighting to oust him. However, relations began to improve in recent years and Salman’s heir, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has held several meetings with Putin.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n There are also common points: the Saudi kingdom, much like Russia, has been hit by the fall in oil prices since mid-2014. Despite regional disagreements, the world’s two largest oil-producers found common ground on energy policy in November, when they led a deal between OPEC and non-OPEC states to cut production in a bid to shore up crude prices. So far that deal is holding and prices have recovered slightly to above $50 a barrel. In an apparent reference to the output deal, Salman told Putin on Thursday that Saudi Arabia is "eager to continue the positive cooperation between our nations in the world oil market, which fosters global economic growth."<\/p>\n<\/p>\n After the meeting, as noted before, the two countries launched a joint energy investment fund worth $1 billion, which could include investments in natural gas projects and petrochemical plants<\/strong>. Among the deal signed, Saudi state oil firm Aramco, the world’s biggest energycompany, signed a deal with Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and gas processing and petrochemicals company Sibur on joint projects in the area of oil refining. Amin Al-Nasser, Aramco chief executive said: "This marks a new milestone in business relations and partnerships with our counterparts in Russia. The visit by The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud to Russia will further enhance ties and will foster collaboration among Saudi and Russian companies on various fronts."<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Aramco also signed a memorandum of cooperation with Russian state-owned oil company Gazprom Neft, to collaborate on drilling technologies and research and development areas, as well as employee exchange programs. According to the FT<\/a>, Alexander Dyukov, chief executive of Gazprom Neft, said:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00ab\u00a0Given the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties, it is of paramount importance that major oil producers coordinate their activities to improve the stability of the global oil and gas market. An important component of such engagement concerns sharing cutting-edge technological solutions and working together to improve efficiency in oil production and refining.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Putting the deals in context, trade volume between the two countries reached $2.8 billion last year, according to official Saudi press. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, announced in 2015 plans to invest $10 billion in Russia over the next five years, though only a fraction of that has so far been put up.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n In an unexpected twist, the two countries also agreed to cooperate in nuclear energy, agriculture, information technology; trade, investments and social development<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00ab\u00a0We have a vast potential for developing cooperation in nuclear power. Saudi Arabia plans to launch a major nuclear power program,\u00a0\u00bb said Russian Energy Minister and Co-Chairman of the Russian-Saudi Intergovernmental Commission Aleksandr Novak.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00ab\u00a0Nuclear power may become one of the basic sources and an extra catalyst for the development of various industries and innovation technologies in Saudi Arabia,<\/strong>\u00a0\u00bb he added. That Saudi Arabia , the world’s largest oil exporter, is planning on using Russian help to build NPPs will certainly raise a few eyebrows. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n In addition to importing Russian nuclear technology, the Saudis also appear ready to expand food imports from Russia, which is set to remain the world’s biggest wheat exporter this year. Food security is a major concern for Saudi Arabia, which stopped local production of livestock feed and wheat due to water scarcity.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Novak said that for the first time a substantial delegation from Saudi Arabia, including about 200 representatives and 85 CEOs of large companies has come to Russia. \u00ab\u00a0Eighty-five heads of the largest companies flew to Russia to establish links with Russian businesses and expand ties in all areas<\/strong>,\u00a0\u00bb the minister said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Just as notably, Novak said that relations between the two countries have reached a \u00ab\u00a0fundamentally new level recently,\u00a0\u00bb Novak said. \u00ab\u00a0Parliamentary contacts show good dynamics and the two countries business circles maintain intensive dialogue,\u00a0\u00bb he said, adding that that significant progress has been made. Novak added that work is underway on a roadmap for the mid-term development of trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation between Moscow and Riyadh.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Putin and Salman are also expected to focus on extending the OPEC oil output cut agreement which has helped prop up oil prices. On Wednesday, Putin said he believes the oil cut agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC countries could be extended beyond March 2018. The next OPEC meeting is due to take place in Vienna at the end of November.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Relations between the two countries had traditionally been strained, especially during the Cold War when Saudis helped arm Afghan rebels fighting against the Soviet invasion. In recent years, however, strong relations between Saudi Arabia and the US have frayed, forcing Saudi Arabia to look for regional alliances elsewhere<\/a>. Earlier on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia thinks highly of Saudi Arabia’s role in arranging talks between the Syrian government and the oppositions in Geneva.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n<\/p>\n In a dramatic announcement as part of today’s meeting, Saudi Arabia also announcedf it has agreed to buy Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems<\/strong>, according to Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television reported on Thursday. The countries also signed a memorandum of understanding to help the kingdom in its efforts to develop its own military industries, a statement from state-owned Saudi Arabian Military Industries said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n According to Reuters<\/a>, SAMI said the MoU with Russian state-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport came in the context of contracts signed to procure the S-400, the Kornet-EM system, the TOS-1A, the AGS-30 and the Kalashnikov AK-103.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n While SAMI did not specify the number of each system or the value of the procurement deal, it said the procurement was \u00ab\u00a0based on the assurance of the Russian party to transfer the technology and localize the manufacturing and sustainment of these armament systems in the Kingdom\u00a0\u00bb, but provided no timeframe.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n This means that after Iran and Turkey, the Russian war machine has expanded to Riyadh, which as a reminder bought hundreds of billions in weapons from the US this spring.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Is Israel next in line to buy Russian weapons?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n<\/p>\n While Salman’s visit signals closer Russian ties with Sunni Arab Gulf states, Russia’s support for its close regional ally, Iran is not expected to change. The U.S., meanwhile, remains Saudi Arabia’s top weapons supplier and its most critical Western ally.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Some, such as Anna Borshchevskaya, a fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, says Russia has no capacity to replace the United States as Saudi Arabia’s key ally.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n
dedefensa.org<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/p>\n
Historic King Salman Visit in Moscow<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n