The impact of the Ukrainian conflict on US relations with the countries of the Middle East

Abstract

The international context of the war in Ukraine is complex and requires in-depth study. The six-month period of hostilities provides a much-needed opportunity to reflect on their implications for international relations. In a global context, the US is forced to admit that it has failed to unconditionally rally its allies against Russia, which maintains alliances around the world that are important to Moscow and costly to the West. It also failed to ensure the adoption of total economic sanctions, which eventually hit the Russian economy, but, judging by current trends, did not lead to the scale of negative consequences expected by Washington. The war in Ukraine turned out to be not only a global but a regional problem. The Middle East region is not free from these consequences. The article presents the results of the analysis of the position of the leading countries of the region (Saudi Arabia, Iran and Israel) regarding the military conflict in Ukraine. It is concluded that, unlike most of Europe, the countries of the Middle East are pursuing a relatively neutral policy regarding the Russian operation in Ukraine. The region has doubts about the effectiveness and significance of the NATO alliance, for a number of reasons they do not support the anti-Russian policy of Washington and maintain a balanced position in relation to the crisis in Ukraine.