Summary: the Gulf states are seeing Washington through far different eyes than Washington is seeing them. America is playing from an old playbook, without realising that the game has changed and nowhere is this more clearly highlighted than by Putin’s war against Ukraine.
Summary: in Libya current events, peace processes and diplomats all seem to be caught in a cyclical game and the country appears to have now gone the full circle, returning to the environment which existed just before the start of the war on Tripoli in 2019.
RUSI associate fellow Samuel Ramani joins Arab Digest editor William Law to discuss Putin’s flagging image in the Middle East, how his stratagems in Libya and Syria are playing out, relations with the Israelis as Netanyahu returns, Türkiye’s role in getting grain moving again and how the Middle East is weighing up its relationship with a leader who in provoking a war has stumbled badly.
Summary: will the energy price rise caused by Putin’s war in Ukraine allow Algeria to return to a position of power and prominence in North Africa and the wider Middle East?
Summary: with less than a month to go before the launch of the World Cup, Qatar has reacted with fury to criticisms in Western media.
Summary: one year on from the military coup that halted Sudan’s quest for democracy, Putin’s war has provided one of the coup leaders with a golden opportunity.
Summary: Qatar is forging ahead with an ambitious programme to dramatically expand gas output in its vast offshore North Field; the Saudis are using the PIF to fund a breakaway golf league.
Summary: the output cuts agreed by OPEC+ on 5 October have reignited the oil bulls. However, there is good reason to continue to weigh the balance between upside and downside risks to the price of crude.
Summary: the recent decision by OPEC+ to cut production was a jab in the eye to the West but one that has been a long time coming.
Summary: following the agreement to cut output at its September meeting, OPEC+ faces another tricky balancing act on 5 October especially if its aim remains to put a US$100pb ‘floor’ under Brent.
