Soviets Seeking Formal Relations With Persian Gulf States

The Soviet Union is making a diplomatic overture to the petroleum-rich Arab regimes that line the Persian Gulf at a time when its own oil production appears to be on the decline. Moscow’s efforts are apparently meeting with some success.

Diplomats here say that Kuwait, which has maintained ties with the Soviets for two decades, is taking the lead in appealing to other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council to establish diplomatic relations with the Eastern Bloc.

“The Soviets are obviously prepared to put a lot of money, effort and time into their efforts to improve relations in the gulf,” a Western diplomat said last week. “They’re being careful not to muddy their nest here, to demonstrate that Kuwait is an example, that the others can safely allow the Russians in.”

Iraq and Kuwait--there are more than 100 Soviet officials in this tiny state--are the only gulf region countries to have formal relations with Moscow. Besides Kuwait, the cooperation council includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.

Open Appeal Made

Leonid M. Zimyatin, a member of the Soviet Communist Party Central Committee and chief of the party’s international information department, made an open appeal in late July for relations with the Arab states bordering the gulf. He spoke in an interview with the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas, and his remarks were widely circulated in the region.

“There are no insurmountable hurdles that impede relations between the Soviet Union and the Arab Gulf countries,” Zimyatin was quoted as having said.

“The Soviet Union understands the fears of the gulf countries,” he said, “and is in solidarity with these countries’ right to act freely and without fear of any foreign intervention.”

This appeared to be a thinly veiled reference to past suggestions that the United States might intervene to safeguard the area’s oil fields if they were threatened with hostile takeover.

Free-Wheeling Capitalism

Previously, relations with the Soviets have been spurned by the gulf states, which are ruled by conservative Muslim regimes that tend to regard Eastern Europe’s officially supported atheism with horror. The gulf states are also bastions of free-wheeling capitalism.

Zimyatin appeared to be trying to sidestep these potential difficulties by pointing to Moscow’s long relationship with Kuwait. “Ideological and cultural disparities should not be an obstacle to understanding and cooperation,” he said.

While previous Soviet efforts aimed at winning supporters in the gulf region have never succeeded, the latest Soviet efforts appear to have won the support of at least one state, Bahrain.

Sheik Khalifa ibn Salman al Khalifa, the tiny state’s prime minister, said that it may be time for countries in the region to change their relationship with Moscow.

“The U.S.S.R. is one of the biggest powers in the world,” Khalifa said in an interview with the Bahraini newspaper Akhbar al Khaleej. “It has weight in international issues. We should reassess our ties with some countries, including the U.S.S.R.”

But Khalifa said the decision should be considered jointly by the gulf countries when they meet in November in Oman.

Alternatives Noted

“Bahrain would like to impress on the Americans that the gulf states have alternatives, but it’s not clear yet whether they are ready to make the leap into the Soviet embrace,” a diplomat said here.

In the view of analysts stationed in the region, the key to Moscow’s future relations in the area lies with Saudi Arabia, which has consistently opposed allowing the Soviets further access to the gulf.

In addition to to the religious and political obstacles, the Saudis have repeatedly condemned the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. They also have close military relations with the United States.

Diplomats said they doubt that Kuwait and Bahrain would be able to sway the other gulf states without Saudi backing, but they add that the opposition could change if the United States is seen as inflexible toward the Arabs, particularly in arms sales.

Congressional Block

Kuwait felt humiliated when a deal to buy Stinger anti-aircraft missiles from the United States was blocked by congressional supporters of Israel. They then turned to the Soviets, who provided military advisers along with missiles and trained Kuwaiti soldiers in the Soviet Union.

The Saudis were also deeply angered by controversy in the United States over the sale of such big-ticket items as airborne warning and control system (AWACS) reconnaissance planes and F-16 jet fighters. The Saudis were reported last year to have held several high-level, private meetings with the Soviets to discuss the possibility of opening relations.

Diplomats agree that the Soviets’ primary goal appears to be assuring themselves of other sources of oil. Soviet production of oil dropped slightly last year to its lowest level since 1981, and informed observers say it appears that it is dropping again this year.

If the Soviets become a competitor with the West for Persian Gulf oil, they would prefer to have previously established relations to ensure equal treatment, according to the diplomats.

By offering an alternative arms source, the diplomats said, the Soviets are also able to score points with the Arab states because U.S. policy is viewed in the area as firmly pro-Israel.