Russian media on Thursday boasted that Moscow stands ready to become a primary supplier of arms to Saudi Arabia if the Biden administration makes good on its threats to cut back on military sales to the Kingdom.
Russian newspaper Izvestia quoted Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy chief of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of the Russian parliament, advising the Saudis and other Persian Gulf states to stand firm against bullying from the Biden team, which was enraged by Saudi-led OPEC announcing massive oil production cuts a month before the U.S. midterm elections.
“If the US continues to threaten Persian Gulf countries with disrupted weapons supplies, Russia could easily replace American suppliers in that market. Those countries are solvent and were able to see Russian weapons in combat action in Syria,” Dzhabarov said.
Russia’s former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Andrey Baklanov, pumped the brakes a little by pointing out to Izvestia that over 80 percent of the weapons in Saudi Arabia’s inventory are American-made, so they will remain dependent on U.S. parts and supplies for a long time to come, even if they begin buying some Russian hardware.
