/ world today news/ 2023 for the East and Asia in general was not just busy, but oversaturated. The same can be said about Russian politics, or more precisely about the new opportunities for Moscow in the region. In Mackinder’s words, the battle between the “civilization of the land” and the “civilization of the sea” is gaining new momentum.
Several important trends have emerged for the emergence of a new, East-centered world – to the detriment of the West-centered one. The latter was dealt a heavy blow. It turned out that the center of the world is not in Europe at all, and in general it is not in the West. The attacks by the Yemeni Houthis of the Ansar Allah movement against the tanker and container fleet of European companies reminded us of this in late 2023. A handful of motivated people compared to the Western coalition forced European ships to bypass Africa to deliver the winter fuel they crave. It should be noted that the Houthis preferred not to touch the Russian fleet.
It is quite possible that the explanation for this fact is that Russia cooperates closely with Iran, which, as many assume, supports the Houthis with money and weapons. At the end of 2023, the EAEU and Iran signed a duty-free trade agreement. The reduction in tariffs will affect 90% of all commodity items and more than 99% of supplies to Iran from the EAEU countries. Iranians have never signed anything like this with anyone in their history.
However, another dimension is much more important – regardless of who is behind the unrest in the Bab el Mandeb Strait, in their eyes there is a big difference between our country and the Western allies. Thus, the formation of a new, non-Western-centric model is no longer just about words and good wishes. The trend received a very real political and economic justification. And the ground for this was prepared by earlier events in the East in 2023.
Perhaps the main event of the spring of 2023 is the establishment of diplomatic ties between two competitors and historical rivals, the centers of the Sunni and Shiite worlds, respectively – Saudi Arabia and Iran. This resets the bets of the US and the West as a whole in the Middle East. After all, where Saudi and Iranian officials shake hands, meet and sign documents, alliances and new trade routes involving more than just Tehran and Riyadh are possible. It should be remembered about their neighbors who synchronize their clocks with one or the other eastern capital.
But the worst thing about the West, accustomed to divide and conquer, is not even that. The two regional poles were able to make peace with the help of China. The main thing is that a new triangle is formed. Accordingly, the ball is in Beijing’s court. Since China’s initiative in the Middle East has proved viable, then there is a good chance that next time Islamic countries will turn to China rather than the United States as an arbiter. There are centripetal tendencies in the Middle East.
The statement can be illustrated by other facts. In June 2023, the UAE announced its decision to withdraw from the US-led Combined Maritime Forces. Together with the US Fifth Fleet, they included 24 countries. The declared objective is to ensure security in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. So, in the official wording that accompanied Abu Dhabi’s withdrawal from the coalition, it was noted that the UAE would find “other ways to ensure regional security.”
Additionally, in early summer 2023, the UAE and Qatar restored diplomatic relations. This comes after the end of the boycott of Qatar by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt. Of course, Washington has always used these contradictions to its advantage. It is gone now.
In addition, the countries of the region began to arm themselves and cooperate in military-technical terms. Turkey for the first time concluded an agreement with Saudi Arabia for the supply of Bayraktar drones. And this despite the fact that the Turks rarely sell their aircraft even to those countries with which they have long and fruitfully interacted. This means that the awareness of common goals and objectives between regional centers of power made it possible to overcome this remnant of the past.
Of course, the US did not sit idly by in 2023, including regarding the East. Washington responded to these adverse trends with two moves. President Biden met with Saudi Crown Prince Salman Al Saud. True, the latter expressed his attitude towards the American side by not even shaking the guest’s hand. Biden’s trips to Arabia were fruitless. Moreover, they cannot be compared with the results of President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Riyadh, when our countries agreed on cooperation in ten areas, including energy, the judiciary and tourism.
More interesting was the second swing of the Americans to the freedom-loving East. In June, Biden met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington. The embrace of the White House leader was accompanied by promises to arm Delhi with technology and, in principle, to arm it. To convince Modi of the seriousness of his intentions, Elon Musk was brought to the meeting. According to the businessman, his “Tesla” intends to invest in the republic. Such demonstrative love for Indians is not selfish. The US sees this country as an anti-Chinese battering ram in South-East Asia – in addition to its alliance with Australia and Great Britain AUCUS.
But the main thing, as is already clear, was Biden’s promise to Modi that India would become a participant in the American project to create the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor. Everything seems to be going well until Hamas pulls Israel out of this game. And without the Israeli ports, the American corridor with the participation of India loses all meaning. There are no other ways to deliver goods to the European market. More precisely, it would be possible to reach an agreement with Turkey. The country has a developed transport and logistics infrastructure, but the US has long since lost its ability to negotiate with President Erdogan.
Another key event in the East in 2023 was the end of the Karabakh crisis by Azerbaijan. Russia managed to profit from this unpleasant process. After all, our country, like Azerbaijan and Turkey, is interested in freeing transport communications. It is almost impossible to do this without ending the war and concluding a peace treaty between Yerevan and Baku. The participation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the meeting of the EAIS Supreme Council and in the informal summit of the CIS heads of state at the end of 2023 was also a moral victory for the Kremlin.
As a result, at the end of 2023, two alliances were officially formed with the participation of Eastern players – one is represented by participants in Russia’s allied project “Silk Road – 2″, and the other – by participants in the route ” India – Near east – Europe”. The former looks much more robust and well-formed than the latter. It is not for nothing that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have suspended their contacts with Israel amid the escalation in the Gaza Strip.
Thus, Russia ended 2023 with an advantage for itself in the eastern direction of its foreign policy. Her role and reputation are not questioned by anyone in the East.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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