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“US Deploys More Forces to Saudi Arabia to Deter Iran” By Carla Babb Updated October 11, 2019 07:48 PM https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/us-deploys-more-forces-saudi-arabia-deter-iran

So, Putin makes his first visit to Saudi in over a decade.

Because they are under copyright, we are just putting the titles of the pictures featured in the articles. In this case, the titles matter.

“Kremlin Confident Turkey Will Soon Halt Syria Incursion
By Jamie Dettmer October 14, 2019 08:59 AM
FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan visit the MAKS 2019 air show in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, Russia, Aug. 27, 2019.
MOSCOW – Russian officials say they expect Turkey to start halting soon its cross-border incursion in north-eastern Syria. They say Syria’s Kurds have agreed to shelve their plans for a self-governing state and Kurdish fighters will join Syrian forces patrolling the border.

The deal-making between Damascus and the Kurds started in earnest nearly a year ago when U.S. President Donald Trump first broached the idea of withdrawing U.S. troops from Kurdish-controlled northeastern Syria, say officials who spoke on the condition they not be identified. They pointed to one of the announced war aims of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on launching his cross-border offensive, formally known as Operation Peace Spring — to ensure Syria’s territorial integrity, code, the Russian officials say, for a Kurdish statelet not to emerge in northeast Syria. “We have been the oil in the negotiations,” a Russian official told VOA….

Last week Russian leader Vladimir Putin appeared to endorse Turkey’s military incursion into northeast Syria, but has drawn some red lines of his own including that the offensive, which has plunged 35 kilometers deep into Syria, doesn’t lead to any permanent occupation by the Turks of Syrian territory, according to both analysts and Russian officials.

In return for the Kremlin’s acceptance of the Turkish offensive, there’s also the expectation that Turkish President Erdogan will acquiesce with Moscow’s plans for Syria’s political future, one that will see President Bashar al-Assad, Russia’s ally, reclaim the whole of Syria…” https://www.voanews.com/europe/kremlin-confident-turkey-will-soon-halt-syria-incursion

“Putin Makes First Visit to Saudi Arabia Since 2007
By Edward Yeranian
Updated October 14, 2019 01:19 PM
CAIRO – Russian President Vladimir Putin received a cordial welcome Monday in th Saudi capital, Riyadh, where his limousine was escorted from the airport to the royal palace by a royal horse guard. Both Putin and Saudi King Salman spoke of improving trade ties, and emphasized that their relationship would not be at the expense of their allies and partners.

A Saudi military band played the Russian national anthem Monday, as President Vladimir Putin stood alongside Saudi King Salman, amid a cordial welcome for the Russian head of state who last visited Riyadh in 2007.

The Saudi welcome of Putin was not quite as elaborate as that given to U.S. President Donald Trump when he visited the kingdom in June of 2017 and was treated to an impressive display of Saudi folklore, including a sword dance.

During a joint meeting of delegations, Salman told Putin that Riyadh and Moscow are improving their trade relations, as per agreements made during the king’s visit to Russia in 2017.

He says that more than 30 separate joint economic projects are underway, and that the kingdom welcomes further Russian participation in the kingdom’s economic development within the scope of the “Vision 2030” project.

Saudi commentators pointed out that the former Soviet Union was the first country to recognize the nascent Saudi kingdom in 1926. Putin noted that Russian-Saudi relations have improved considerably since a link between the two countries was restored in 1990 and even more so during the past several years.

FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, May 30, 2017.

He says that there has been much progress in economic cooperation since Salman’s visit to Moscow in 2017 and that a number of trade agreements have been implemented, increasing bilateral trade, considerably.

Saudi commentator Dr. Ali al-Anazy told Al Arabiya TV that trade between the two countries increased to around $29 billion last year. He stressed that both sides are determined “not to let their joint relations interfere with those of other allies or partners.” Riyadh is a key Middle Eastern ally of the U.S., and Tehran is a key ally of Russia’s.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have had increasingly thorny relations in recent years, finding themselves on opposing sides in conflicts in Syria and Yemen. Russian media hinted at Putin’s good relations with Tehran and the possibility of his ‘delivering a message to Tehran’ from Riyadh, if the occasion arose.

FILE – From left: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during their meeting in Ankara, Turkey, Sept. 16, 2019.

Putin joked that he was ready to sell Russian air defense systems to Riyadh during a summit earlier this month with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in the Turkish capital, Ankara. Russian media insisted at the time that the offer was made in jest. It followed the attack on Saudi oil installations in its Eastern Province. Yemen’s Houthis claimed responsibility for the drone and missile attacks. Riyadh, however, blamed Iran.

Washington-based Gulf analyst Theodore Karasik told VOA that Putin’s visit to Riyadh signals that Moscow is “seeking to act as a mediator between Riyadh and Tehran.” He adds that it is also “meant as a hint to others about Russia’s intent,” in terms of possible arms sales and Russian offerings of “advanced technology to counter drones and other threats” at next month’s Dubai airshow.

Dr. Paul Sullivan, a professor at the U.S. National Defense University, told VOA that “Putin and Russia are moving fast to gather power and leverage in the area.” He argues that Putin is becoming ‘the Teflon boss in the region,” following a strategy which includes “[building] nuclear plants in Egypt, military actions in Syria and deal-making in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.”

Putin, he argues, “is clearly taking advantage of what he calls the relative unfocused, chaotic and counter-strategic actions of Washington in the region.”

The Jerusalem Post tweeted Monday that Russia was offering to cooperate with the U.S. in building a nuclear power plant in Saudi Arabia. VOA could not independently confirm the report, however. ” https://www.voanews.com/europe/putin-makes-first-visit-saudi-arabia-2007

Update note – We apparently still have nuclear weapons parked in Turkey: https://jonhendricksjr.me/2019/10/15/us-policy-collapses-into-catastrophe-following-trumps-whims-rachel-maddow-msnbc/

This was Flynn’s project – a Russia-US nuclear deal: https://miningawareness.wordpress.com/2017/12/15/does-the-flynn-middle-east-nuclear-reactor-deal-include-a-plot-for-a-new-oil-cartel-to-double-the-price-of-oil/