Russia Archives - Arab Digest

Oil: A Reality Check

19 October 2021William LawArab Digest EmailEurope, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, USA

Although decarbonisation does mean painful economic adjustments worldwide the current hype over the ‘energy crisis’ and consequent risk to the global economy is overblown.

A good day for Mohammed bin Salman

11 October 2021William LawArab Digest EmailBahrain, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK, USA, Yemen

The Saudi crown prince had a brace of wins on 7 October with the purchase of NUFC and the ditching of a UNHRC investigation into war crimes in Yemen.

Russia and the slaughter of Syrian civilians

8 October 202112 October 2021Hugh MilesPodcastsRussia, Syria

Arab Digest · Russia and the slaughter of Syrian civilians

Russia in Syria: Airwars tracks civilian harm events

5 October 2021William LawArab Digest EmailAirwars, Russia, Syria

Airwars has tracked up to 23,000 civilian deaths from Russian military actions since 2015 – with Moscow yet to concede a single casualty.

China headaches for Iran Deal

22 September 2021William LawArab Digest EmailChina, GCC, Iran, Israel, JCPOA, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, USA

While the Gulf states watch with nervous apprehension as President Biden tries to revive the nuclear deal, China is shattering the sanctions and giving Iran an economic lifeline that could wreck hopes for a renewed JCPOA.

Bridges to the Taliban

1 September 2021William LawArab Digest EmailAfghanistan, China, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, USA

As the seismic shock of the Taliban victory continues to reverberate in Western capitals, Doha and Ankara are well positioned to seek to influence the new regime and ameliorate the stark and threatening reality now facing the West.

Libya: back to square one

23 August 20216 October 2021William LawArab Digest EmailEgypt, France, Libya, Russia, Turkey, UAE

With the warlord Khalifa Haftar emerging from defeat doing deals with the wily political survivor Aguila Saleh and a corrupt Prime Minister Dbeibah in place, the people gain no measure of security and face a bleak and unpromising future as the UN muddles and foreign powers continue to meddle in Libya

Petroleum and the Prisoner’s Dilemma

12 July 2021William LawArab Digest EmailOpec, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, USA

Summary: With the Saudis and the Emiratis falling out, speculation has increased that Opec’s days are numbered but there are persuasive short- and long-term reasons for the cartel to hang together.

A very public disagreement

6 July 2021William LawArab Digest EmailOpec, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are in the midst of a public feud over production cuts with the potential to wreck OPEC+ and set off an oil market pricing brawl.

Putin in MENA

5 July 20215 July 2021William LawArab Digest EmailLibya, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, USA

As uncertainty hovers around the Biden administration’s approach to the Middle East, Samuel Ramani, a non-resident fellow at Gulf International Forum reflects on Vladimir Putin’s MENA strategy. This is a transcript, edited for clarity and length, of a recent podcast conversation with Arab Digest editor William Law. The podcast is available here.