Ukraine crisis: as US seeks to punish Russia, Middle East allies offer tepid support
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
Guy Burton, an adjunct professor at Vesalius College in Brussels, said Israel and Turkey were both clearly against the Russian invasion.
“Israel was trying to tread carefully between Russia and Ukraine”, he said, indicating as late as last week that it did not want to sell its Iron Dome missile defence system to Ukraine in case it upset the Russians.
“Israel also wanted to avoid confrontation with Russia as it was its gatekeeper to carry out air strikes in Syria against its rivals,” Burton said.
Israelis “know who their main partner is”, he said.
“While they may push back and against American objectives at times, when Washington puts down a marker, Israel usually responds,” Burton said – as happened in 2019 when the US began demanding that Israel limit its economic contacts with China.
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Another factor in the reticence of Saudi Arabia and the UAE may be the impact that the Ukraine conflict is having on oil prices, Burton said.
“It’s now above US$100 per barrel [up from around US$80 in January], which is extremely beneficial to oil producers like Saudi and Abu Dhabi,” he said.
