Big diplomatic coup by China that manages to shake hands with Iran and Saudi Arabia, historically rival powers in the Middle East. Yesterday Saudi Arabia confirmed that through Beijing’s mediation it has reached an agreement with Iran which will allow the resumption of bilateral relations between Riyadh and Teheran. The meetings to define the agreement have been held in the Chinese capital since 6 March. In the press release released by Riad they also thank each other the governments of Iraq and Oman for having contributed, since 2020, to facilitating meetings between Iranian and Saudi representatives.
China supports Saudi Arabia and Iran “in decisive progress and in their commitment to work for the common bright future with patience and wisdom,” the Communist Party’s head of diplomacy said after the signing Wang Yi. Relations between the two countries should start to normalize after 7 years of strong tensions which are, among other things, at the root of the conflict that is tearing Yemen apart. Wang Li noted that “as a reliable friend of the two countries, China will continue to play a constructive role.” The agreement, according to a note from Chinese diplomats, “has opened a path that leads to peace and stability in the Middle East and sets an example of how to resolve disagreements and differences through dialogue and consultation”.
They chew the United States bitterly. “Saudi Arabia has kept us informed of talks on resuming diplomatic relations with Iran but the United States was not directly involvedsaid the US national security spokesman, John Kibry. According to Kriby, the US “positively evaluates the resumption of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia but remains “sceptical” that Tehran “will fulfill its obligations”. “The agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran is a total and dangerous failure of the Israeli government’s foreign policy“, writes the former premier and leader of the opposition on twitter Yair Lapid according to which the agreement “is a collapse of the regional defense wall that we have begun to build against Iran. This is what happens when we deal with judicial follies all day long instead of doing the work in front of Iran and strengthen relations with the US“.
The agreement is instead well received in Brussels. “The European Union welcomes the announced agreement on the resumption of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia and looks forward to its implementation. The resumption of their bilateral relations can contribute to stabilization of the entire region“. The spokesman of the EU External Action Service (SEA), led by the High Representative, writes in a note Joseph Borrell Saudi Arabia and Iran, both OPEC membersare respectively the second and eighth largest oil producer in the world. Riyadh has reserves of 267 billion barrels, the second in the world, followed by Iran with 208 billion barrels. As far as gas is concerned, Iran has reserves of 34 trillion cubic metres, the second largest in the world. Arabia is seventh with 9.4 trillion cubic meters. Both countries are on good terms with Russia. In particular, Iran maintains particularly strong relations with Moscow. Saudi does not participate in the sanctions against the Kremlin and has continued to trade hydrocarbons with Russia.
Previous Article
“Armed forces out of school”, the Observatory’s appeal against the militarization of classrooms
