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As the tectonic political plates move in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), one outcome has become very clear in recent months as to the direction the new Saudi leadership will move as the United States becomes less dependent on Middle Eastern oil. KSA is moving towards Russia military.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has established himself as the king-maker in the Levant and Fertile Crescent, thanks to the intentional weakness of the Obama administration, and the Saudis have taken notice.
Russia does not make much internally but they do make very good weapons, especially air defense systems honed to defeat incoming NATO aircraft. Saudi Arabia is now diverting arms sales towards Moscow, away from historical U.S. relationships.
Russia and Saudi Arabia have signed contracts on air defense, Head of Russia’s Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev told Rossiya 24 on Monday, reports Russian state news agency TASS.
“We have well-known contracts on air defense and other issues, which have been signed,” Shugayev said, giving no details on the particular systems.
Saudi Arabia, along with Turkey and Iran, will be purchasing the highly-capable S-400 air defense surface to air missile system.