Saudi Arabia this week came one step closer to joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a formidable bloc of Eurasian states led by Moscow and Beijing.
On March 28, Riyadh approved a memorandum to begin the process of joining the SCO as a “dialogue partner,” according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Dialogue partner status is generally seen as a first step toward full membership in the regional bloc.
The oil-rich kingdom has been a key U.S. ally in the Middle East for decades. The move, therefore, is likely to prompt Western fears of a Saudi shift into the Russian-Chinese orbit.
According to professor Mehmet Seyfettin Erol, a Turkish political analyst, Saudi accession to the SCO reflects Riyadh’s pursuit of a “more balanced foreign policy.”…