Iran and Saudi Arabia are hegemonic rivals in the Persian Gulf region.
(As an aside: Russia and China are hegemonic rivals in Central Asia)
Which makes the BRICS "coalition" an interesting geopolitical dalliance, but one which will require a great deal more political evolution on the part of the participants in order to have any lasting substance.
Hegemonic competitions never wait. At best they just get moved into the realm of quiet subterfuge while the players do the coalition Kabuki for the media to lap up in all their sycophantic silliness.
Russia and China were on the cusp of a shooting war more times than China and India in the 1960s.
Xi Jinping in every other regard thinks of himself as a latter day Mao Zedong but is willing to overlook Mao's open hostility to Russia (which was the opening Nixon exploited) to be Putin's BFF?
I'll never say its impossible, but I just don't see that happening.
China is playing up the Russia card for the same reason Nixon went to China--to upset the balance of power with the US.
Will Biden have to shut down the Permian Basin for the Saudis to stay with the west and the petro-dollar?
Or is the deal to join the BRICS Coalition done?
That same "coalition" is also courting Iran.
Iran and Saudi Arabia are hegemonic rivals in the Persian Gulf region.
(As an aside: Russia and China are hegemonic rivals in Central Asia)
Which makes the BRICS "coalition" an interesting geopolitical dalliance, but one which will require a great deal more political evolution on the part of the participants in order to have any lasting substance.
"Russia and China are hegemonic rivals"
Yes, but that "competition" can wait for the 1500 re-entry vehicles headed our way.
As far as Iran and the Saudis, perhaps they are reading the tea leaves, or goat bones, or whatever the heck they read over there.
Hegemonic competitions never wait. At best they just get moved into the realm of quiet subterfuge while the players do the coalition Kabuki for the media to lap up in all their sycophantic silliness.
Russia and China were on the cusp of a shooting war more times than China and India in the 1960s.
Xi Jinping in every other regard thinks of himself as a latter day Mao Zedong but is willing to overlook Mao's open hostility to Russia (which was the opening Nixon exploited) to be Putin's BFF?
I'll never say its impossible, but I just don't see that happening.
China is playing up the Russia card for the same reason Nixon went to China--to upset the balance of power with the US.
I hope you are right, but I take them at their word, we would be fools not to.