Saudi Arabia warms to Russia's embrace

This week has seen a full ceremonial 21-gun salute for President Vladimir Putin in the capital, an audience with the king and crown prince, a host of bilateral deals and a seismic strategic recalculation in the region as Saudi Arabia's US allies effectively abandon the Kurds to their fate in northern Syria.

President Putin has made a rare but much-publicised visit to Saudi Arabia - his first in 12 years - accompanied by a sizable delegation of trade, security and defence officials. Bilateral deals worth more than $2bn (£1.6bn) and more than 20 agreements have been announced.

Defence discussions have included the possible purchase and future deployment of Russia's formidable S-400 air defence missile system, which would be a diplomatic blow to Washington.

Put bluntly, the Saudis no longer trust the US and the West as much as they used to. That doesn't mean they necessarily trust Moscow either, but recent events in the Middle East have triggered a major rethink in Saudi court circles. The first big shock came with the Arab Spring protests of 2011. The Saudis - and other Gulf Arab monarchies - were appalled at the speed with which the West dumped its long-time ally, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.

By contrast, they couldn't help noticing that Moscow stood by its beleaguered Middle East partner, Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad.

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