“Very few countries in Asia and Africa accept the need to reevaluate their strategic calculations and restructure much of their foreign policy because of the Ukraine war, which to them is a limited border war in far-off Eastern Europe. Most are happy to side with Ukraine at the United Nations and provide humanitarian aid when possible, as Saudi Arabia recently did to the tune of $400 million. But the idea that Ukraine is now the primary lens through which all aspects of international relations must be judged and measured is simply not shared by the developed and developing worlds. And this really lies at the heart of the U.S.-Saudi misunderstanding over the oil pricing and production quota issue.”

Hussein Ibish [Diwan, Carnegie Middle East Center]