To whom do Islamic countries stand in the Ukraine-Russia crisis?

Posted on 24th Feb 2022 by rohit kumar

Muslims constitute one to two percent of Ukraine's population of 4.49 crore. The majority of the population here is Christian. Russia has started military action on eastern Ukraine.

 

Western countries are angry about this action of Russia and have announced many sanctions so far. Japan and Australia also stand with the countries of the West. Apart from these, the rest of the countries are giving balanced statements keeping in mind their interests.

 

Let's take a look at who the major Islamic countries or Muslim majority countries are within the conflict over Ukraine-

 

Saudi Arab

 

On 23 February, at a United Nations General Assembly, Saudi Arabia spoke of a diplomatic solution without condemning Russia. Saudi Arabia appealed to both sides to reduce military tensions. It is being said that the attention of the media is on Ukraine, but because of this, the talk of rising gas prices is decreasing.

 

The price of gas has risen to the highest in the last seven years due to the Ukraine crisis. The partnership between Russia and Saudi Arabia has grown dramatically in recent years. Russia and Saudi Arabia are both the world's largest oil producers and control export decisions.

 

The relationship between America and Saudi Arabia is not the same as before. This was also indicated this month when US President Joe Biden urged Saudi Arabia to increase oil production. If Saudi had done this, it would not only help in reducing inflation and gas prices, but it would also have controlled Russia's advantage. But Saudi Arabia refused this.

 

It is said that a result of the growing power of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has also been that the relations between Saudi and Russia have deepened. The summer of 2015 was the first meeting between Putin and the Crown Prince. Since then there have been several meetings of both the leaders. When Biden became president, he had said that he would only meet his counterparts. The Crown Prince is the Defense Minister of Saudi Arabia and only the Defense Minister of America will meet him.

 

In a report from The Intercept, Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, says, "Putin and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia have a lot in common. Do not tolerate your opponents both inside or outside the house. Both carry out attacks in neighboring countries and try to keep the price of oil as high as possible. The best opportunity for the Saudi Crown Prince will be after the attack on Ukraine. Because the price of oil will reach the seventh sky.

 

Many people are also raising the question about Saudi that it does not have the right to speak on Ukraine because Yemen has been taking military action for many years. On Wednesday, India's well-known lyricist Javed Akhtar had tweeted that why the West forces keep silent on Saudi Arabia's bombing in Yemen?

 

Turkey

 

Turkey is not a constitutionally Islamic country, but the majority of its population is Muslim. Turkey is also a member of NATO. As a member of NATO, he is not with the Russian attack on Ukraine, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan goes to Putin when he is angry with America. The US also imposed sanctions on Turkey for taking the S-400 missile system from Russia. Turkey's relations with the US have deteriorated since Biden's arrival.

 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. A statement has been issued regarding this conversation from the official Twitter account of the President of Turkey.

 

In this conversation, the issue of Russia-Ukraine was discussed. President Erdogan said that he has always given importance to dialogue with Russian President Putin, which has yielded many good results and he will continue to communicate.

 

Turkey stressed that it does not support measures that violate Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and that its stand is based on principles. Erdogan insisted on resolving the problem under the Minsk Agreement.

 

Describing the current situation as complex, Erdoan said that no one will benefit from the military conflict, so Turkey is in favor of finding a solution through diplomatic means. Turkey is also ready to play a role in reducing tension. Erdogan said Turkey will continue to play its positive role in NATO as well. The Turkish President has also invited Russian President Putin to attend the High-Level Cooperation Council meeting.

 

Iran

 

Iran is a Shia Muslim majority country. Iran's relationship with America has been bad since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Iran has good relations with Russia.

 

Regarding the Ukraine crisis, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Tuesday, "The Islamic Republic of Iran expects patience from all sides. Any kind of stress-increasing step should be avoided. All parties can resolve their differences through dialogue. Unfortunately, the US has complicated the situation in the region with NATO intervention and provocations.

 

However, Iran's relations with Russia have not historically been cordial. In 1943, during World War II, Allied leaders Stalin, Churchill, and Franklin D. Roosevelt met in Tehran. At that time Iran was occupied by Russia and Britain. At the Tehran conference itself, the Allies had agreed to attack Normandy on a second front. In 1941, Russia and Britain attacked neutral Iran so that oil supplies would not be interrupted and Russian supplies continued.

 

Pakistan

 

Pakistan is the only Islamic country in the world that has nuclear power. Pakistan was in the US camp during the Cold War but now the situation is changing. Most interestingly, Putin has ordered an attack on Ukraine, and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has reached Russia.

 

Many analysts on social media say that Imran Khan has chosen the wrong time of the tour. It is being said that the time chosen by Imran Khan will send a message that Pakistan is not standing with the US-led coalition but with Russia in the Ukraine crisis.

 

According to Pakistan's English newspaper Dawn, its National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf has dismissed the speculation about the timing of Imran Khan's visit. Yusuf has said, "Yes, there is global tension but our tour is bilateral and it is similar to the China tour. Economic issues are included in our tour. We are not in any one camp.”

 

UAE

 

The United Arab Emirates has appealed to the United Nations Security Council to resolve the issue of Ukraine through diplomatic dialogue. The UAE has not said that Russia has violated Ukraine's sovereignty. According to the UAE's official news agency WAM, the Foreign Minister of Russia and the UAE spoke on the phone on Wednesday and stressed the need to further strengthen their ties. The talk of strengthening relations between the foreign ministers of the two countries has happened during the Ukraine crisis.