Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates began pursuing a defense treaty on March 30th as Gulf countries have begun to question the efficacy of U.S. assurances in the wake of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The two monarchies have proposed joining U.S. efforts to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in exchange for a commitment from the United States to defend their sovereign territories. Not only would entering a treaty alliance strengthen Washington’s shackles to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, it would inexorably commit the United States to protecting the two Gulf powers.
It is important to note that neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE want a potential trilateral treaty to require them to come to the United States’ defense. Reports suggest that the Gulf countries want to use the UAE’s security agreement with France as a guide to a new security agreement between Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, and Washington. The French president notes that the Franco-Saudi-Emirati agreement states that the two countries “would jointly decide of specific and tailored responses, including military ones, if the security, the sovereignty, the territorial integrity and the independence of the UAE was threatened."
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