Why Is Russia Seeking to Open Up More to the Gulf States?

Russia's announcement to work on a visa-abolishing system with Gulf states has raised many questions about the purpose of the move at a time when it is still fighting a war against Ukraine amid great tension with the West.

On December 16, 2022, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, was quoted by Sputnik as saying: "Visa-free travel is being worked out with almost all Persian Gulf countries—Bahrain, Saudi Arabia."

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is made up of six countries, namely Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, and the latter two have concluded visa-free travel agreements between the latter two countries in recent years.

On December 11, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that "relations between the Kingdom and Russia are developing and that this must be built upon through dialogue, which has helped the Kingdom to broker deals for the release of some prisoners."

Saudi Arabia has engaged with the UAE in recent months in several deals between Russia and the West to release prisoners and prisoners of American, Ukrainian, and other nationalities, which observers considered an indication of the growing role of the Gulf states in Russian circles.

 

Why Now?

As for the implications of this step, Saad al-Zubaidi, a researcher in Middle East affairs, told Al-Estiklal that "Russia's move towards the Gulf in light of its war with Ukraine and the West carries political dimensions that have some contradiction with America, as it is the historical ally of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries."

He added: "It also comes in light of the worst relations between Washington and Riyadh, and the latter's desire to open up to Russia and China more, despite the visit of US President Joe Biden to Riyadh, who was not in agreement with the Saudi leadership from the beginning.

"The matter also has an economic dimension, because Russia today needs to open up more to the Gulf countries after its closure with Western countries as a result of its war on Ukraine and the subsequent Western sanctions," al-Zubaidi said.

The Iraqi researcher pointed out that "Saudi Arabia and Russia have cooperation within OPEC Plus, especially in continuing to control global oil prices and keep them high, and not responding to US pressure to increase production in order to reduce prices."

For his part, journalist Badr al-Otaibi said that "if the system of entry of Gulf citizens to Russia without a visa is approved, this step will play a major role in strengthening and developing relations between the two sides in all political, economic, and cultural fields."

He explained to Al-Khaleej Online on December 20 that "there are individual discussions in this aspect that Russia previously held with some Gulf countries, as it asked Bahrain in 2020 to activate the visa-free travel system for citizens of both countries.

"The establishment of a visa-free system is currently being negotiated with most Gulf countries, but the approval of the system depends on the extent to which all GCC countries support it, and once this is achieved, the system will be approved," al-Otaibi said.

He pointed out that the Gulf countries are working to diversify their alliances, and "there are indications of the development of Gulf-Russian relations," citing "the development of the volume of trade between Russia and the Gulf from about $3 billion in 2016, to more than $5 billion in 2021."

The Saudi writer pointed out that Riyadh and Moscow are leading the "OPEC+" alliance to stabilize oil prices, adding that "strengthening relations with Russia is required, and in the end the Gulf decision stems from the supreme interest of its countries and citizens."

 

New Alternatives

In the same context, Elena Suponina, a consultant at the Center for Russian International Relations in Moscow, explained that "Russian citizens are now suffering some restrictions on travel by Western countries, and it is now impossible to obtain a Schengen visa from any European embassy, just as it is almost impossible to obtain a US visa."

She told the BBC on December 19 that "Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his aides have announced more than once that there are alternatives in the east, and now Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has once again indicated that there are attempts by Moscow to create a new system of tourist exchange between Russia and the Gulf states."

"Talks are now taking place with both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and for a long time there has been no problem with the exchange of tourists between Russia, Qatar, and the UAE," Suponina said, without mentioning the situation of Oman and Kuwait.

"With these steps, Russia announces that Western countries will lose their tourists, and there are other countries in the Gulf that will benefit from their arrival, as well as economic cooperation," the Russian chancellor said.

In recent years, Moscow has announced a package of entry facilities for some citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), signaling the inauguration of a new phase of bilateral relations.

The agreement on the mutual abolition of visa requirements between Russia and the UAE entered into force on February 17, 2019, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced at the time.

"Citizens of Russia and the UAE who possess valid passports and who have no intention of working, studying, or residing in the territories of one of the two countries, have the right to be exempted from the visa system, and have the right to enter, reside or transit through the territory of the other country without a visa for a period of up to 90 days, and 180 days during the entire period," the ministry said in a statement.

In February 2020, the Embassy of Qatar in Moscow announced that Russia welcomes Qatari citizens without a visa, as part of joint efforts to strengthen friendly relations between the two countries.

The embassy statement at the time stated that the decision will work to overcome all obstacles to the establishment of smooth communication between the citizens of the two countries, as the governments of the two countries signed on December 27, 2019, the agreement "mutual exemption of citizens of the two countries from visa requirements."

The Embassy of Qatar explained that starting from February 23, 2020, every citizen of the two countries will be able to visit the other country without obtaining an entry visa, and to reside there for a period not exceeding 90 days, provided that the purpose of the visit is not work, study, or permanent residence, as each of these cases has its own conditions.

On October 19, 2021, Russia announced the opening of its doors to citizens of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman and allowing them to enter Russian territory within a list of 52 countries in the world by granting them an electronic visa that takes a few minutes.

It seems to want to ensure that the gates of important international entertainment centers such as Dubai and Riyadh are finally opened to their citizens after Western entertainment capitals were closed to them.

 

Expanding Relationships

On May 31, 2022, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Saudi Arabia and held a meeting with the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and statements were issued praising the relationship between the two sides and the refusal of the Gulf countries to respond to the implementation of Western sanctions against Russia.

Sergey Lavrov said during a speech after the meeting with the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Russia on May 31, 2022, that "the Gulf countries confirmed their non-participation in adopting the Western sanctions signed on Russia."

"A group of countries cannot be allowed to dominate the international arena by shaping a unipolar world built on the rules they proclaim."

"Our partners in the Gulf understand the nature of the conflict and have reiterated their position that they will not join Western sanctions against Russia and Belarus."

For his part, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said during the ministerial meeting: "Today we witnessed a fruitful meeting with the Foreign Minister of Russia. Our Gulf position is unified on the crisis in Ukraine and its negative repercussions, especially with regard to the food security of the affected countries and the world."

The Russian Foreign Minister's meeting with the GCC foreign ministers came as part of a Gulf tour that the latter began from Bahrain, then Saudi Arabia, a day before the OPEC meeting of oil-producing countries and two days after the European Union's decision to ban two-thirds of Russian oil imports.

Before that, Lavrov conducted a Gulf tour in March 2022, which began with a visit to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, with the aim of "detailed control of the main files on the global and regional agenda."

With the exception of Qatar and the UAE, Russia does not currently fully exempt Gulf states from visas.

But on April 17, 2017, it signed a decree allowing citizens of 18 countries, including 9 Arab countries, to travel to the Russian "Far East" regions without a visa.

The resolution included "Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Oman," as well as Algeria, Brunei, India, Iran, Turkey, China, North Korea, Morocco, Mexico, Singapore, Tunisia, and Japan.