The Russians know that Obama can do very little. They will reincorporate Crimea into Russia the way the Chinese seized Tibet. If the Russians care about foreign responses, they want the Saudis to notice.The Russians from the beginning understood what the Saudis have been doing. The Saudis hope to create an Arabic speaking pan Sunni confederation that would include large parts of Syria and Iraq. They have funded post bin Laden al Qaeda as an international Sunni fighting force currently deployed in Syria and Iraq. The Russians with a horrendous problem with jihadists in southern Russia cannot allow nearby Syria to become a jihadist haven and safe base. The Saudis were so impudent that they offered to guarantee the security of the Sochi Olympics if only the Russians withdrew from Syria. Putin was amused. He told the Saudis they were now accountable for any trouble at Sochi and stationed submarines off the coasts of Saudi Arabia to make his point. Sadly neither Obama nor Kerry have a clue on what is really happening.
Interesting analysis. Do you see Saudi fingerprints in any other areas? I think I do.
Moscow has said “no” to Saudi Arabia’s alleged proposal of a rich arms deal and protection of Russia’s gas interests in the Middle East in exchange for abandoning Syrian President Bashar Assad, according to Arab and European diplomats.
According to an undisclosed European diplomat, Prince Bandar proposed the deal and told Putin that “whatever regime comes after” Assad will be “completely” in Riyadh’s hands. The Prince reportedly stated that if the deal was accepted, Saudi Arabia would not sign any contracts damaging Russian interests by allowing Gulf countries to transport its gas across Syria to Europe.
http://rt.com/news/saudi-russia-arms-putin-239/