Vladimir Putin was forced to postpone a highly anticipated summit with Arab leaders at the last minute due to a lack of interest from those invited. The inaugural Russia-Arab conference, intended to boost Moscow’s standing in the region, was scuppered on Thursday night after the announcement of the U.S.-backed ceasefire deal in Gaza forced leaders to drop out. Although a source told Bloomberg that the summit will almost certainly be rescheduled, its cancellation comes as a personal rebuke to Putin, who had hoped to use the occasion to project soft power in a region that is becoming increasingly interested in building ties with Trump. “Putin wanted to show everyone that he is the leader of the ‘global majority,’ but what kind of majority is that without the Arab world?” said Moscow-based political analyst Andrei Kolesniko. “He would like to be as big a player there as the Soviet Union once was, but he lacks the resources.” Of the 22 Arab leaders invited to the summit only a handful confirmed attendance, with regional heavyweights such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE declining to attend following developments in Gaza. Russia’s presence in the Gulf was severely weakened last year following the collapse of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s regime, while both the U.S. and China have strengthened ties.
The post Putin Forced to Cancel His Big Summit Debut Over Embarrassing Lack of Interest appeared first on The Daily Beast