STEVEN KUO: Saudi Arabia is emerging as a global power broker
The most stunning international chess move that MBS has pulled was on US President Joe Biden
Saudi Arabia is on the move. Led by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, the Saudis are emerging as an influential regional and global power broker. In September, together with Turkey, Saudi Arabia successfully negotiated a prisoner swap deal between Russia and Ukraine. Among the 300 prisoners of war who were swapped there were 10 foreigners, including British, American, Croatian and Swedish nationals.
The facilitation of negotiations on the prisoner swap looks very much like a dress rehearsal for the eventual ceasefire and peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia when the time eventually comes. If President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and Russia President Vladimir Putin are willing to trust Saudi Arabia (together with Turkey) to broker the prisoner swap deal, the hope is that MBS and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan are trusted enough by both sides to negotiate an end to the conflict between Russia and the West being fought in Ukraine...
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