Chapter 266 Visiting Saudi Arabia
Seriosha did not continue to stay in Iraq. He did everything he should do and said everything he should say. As long as Saddam was still rational, he believed that he would deal with the Kuwait issue in the way Seriosha suggested. There are only a few countries in the world that dared to fall out with the United States and the Soviet Union at the same time, and Iraq is obviously not one of them. Seriosha had to deal with too many things, and time was so urgent, so the next day after inspecting the farm outside Baghdad with Saddam, Seriosha took a special plane to Iraq's neighbor Saudi Arabia.
At this moment, Seriosha's arrival plays a decisive role in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, because a vote will be held at the United Nations General Assembly in a few days. Whether the Kuwait government in exile can restore its country depends largely on this vote. If the vote is passed, the pressure on the issue of US troops will be much smaller in Congress, and the chance of sending troops will be greatly increased. However, the Soviet Union is the five permanent members of the United Nations and has a veto power. No matter how many countries Kuwait and Saudi Arabia win over to support the Kuwait government in exile, as long as the Soviet Union does not nod, everything will be in vain. Among the five permanent members of the United Nations, the United States, Britain and France, support the Kuwait government, and China will abstain from the power most of the time, so it is crucial to get the support of the Soviet Union.
Although Seriosha first visited Iraq, he was still a dear guest to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait today. Seriosha received even more courtesy in Saudi Arabia than Iraq. Seriosha still did not express any opinions in Saudi Arabia. He also answered reporters' questions ignorantly. However, in private, Seriosha had already passed his conditions to the Kuwait and Saudi governments. Seriosha's conditions were very harsh. He asked Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to support OEC production cuts by 20%. At the same time, he also provided US$100 billion in interest-free loans to the Soviet Union.
The US$100 billion is almost one-sixth of Saudi Arabia's foreign exchange reserves. The Soviet Union has to borrow so much money and not pay interest. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are really gritting their teeth. What's more, the Soviet Union has asked Saudi Arabia to exert its influence, prompting OPEC to reduce production by 20%. I'm afraid that most of this share of production cuts will need to be borne by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait!
"This is a naked threat!" The Saudi representative complained to Kuwait Emir in private and angrily.
"If I knew it was the result, I would rather exempt Saddam from his debts!" Kuwaiti Emir said helplessly. Although his brother died at the gun of Iraq, the Kuwaiti royal family has encountered obstacles in front of the United States and the Soviet governments these days. The Americans used mercenary troops to send the Kuwaiti government in exile. In addition to paying the international risk consulting company, they also had to pay the United States a large amount of money for purchasing weapons. The two sums together almost exceeded the foreign debt owed by Iraq. The Kuwaiti government can only consume the foreign exchange it has accumulated over the years. Although the foreign exchange reserves are still abundant, once they are sold out, even the mercenary troops of the international risk consulting company will leave them.
The Saudi representative still pins his hopes on the Americans, but the United States has not given any definite news yet. However, intelligence from the Saudi ambassador to the United States shows that anti-war demonstrations in the United States are becoming more and more intense. There are protesters everywhere on the White House and Capitol Hill. Although Saddam's war lacks justice, Americans who have been scared of the Vietnam War will never want to experience it again.
The US media now sees recruitment advertisements from international risk consulting companies from time to time. At the same time, as the world's largest private armed forces, the US media has also developed a strong interest in international risk consulting companies. CNN TV, famous for its 24-hour rolling international news, sent a team of reporters to follow the international risk consulting company to go deep into Kuwait to report the war in close proximity. The cruel battle scenes stimulated the CNN ratings and also made the American people's terrorism sentiment begin to rise. In the face of protesters, the US Congress naturally cannot easily let Bush's decision to pass the test.
All parties involved in solving the Kuwait issue have their own difficulties. At this special moment, the poison that Seriosha has brought out forced Kuwait, who is eager to restore the country, to swallow it. The Kuwait government is no longer afraid to tie its fate to the United States. They have privately contacted Seriosha, saying that if the Soviet Union can make Iraq withdraw its troops, Kuwait agrees to exempt Iraq's debts and provide the Soviet Union with an interest-free loan of US$20 billion.
Seriosha happily agreed to Kuwait's request, and the two sides signed a memorandum that was not legally binding. Saudi Arabia still had fantasies about the United States. There were US troops stationed in Saudi Arabia. Although the torrent of Iraq on the border put great pressure on Saudi Arabia, as long as the US military is still in Saudi Arabia, it will have some deterrent effect on Saddam.
"You may not agree to our conditions, but in that case we will have to reconsider the Kuwait issue. After all, Iraq is our ally. If Iraq can really eliminate evil neighbors and become the leader of the Arab world, it will be very beneficial to our Soviet Union!" Seriosha was too lazy to cover up and directly said the threatening words.
Selyosha’s meaning is very clear. If Saudi Arabia is unwilling to limit oil production, the Soviet Union will fully support Saddam to gain the position of the Middle East hegemony. Iraq will definitely like to limit production at that time because their production capacity is limited, and many oil fields have been blown into ruins by the Iranian fear army. Once oil prices rise, Iraq can greatly alleviate the pressure on debt.
Just when Seriosha said that unless he said this, four Tu-160 bombers landed in Syria, another Soviet ally in the Middle East. At the same time, the Soviet Black Sea Fleet also left its home port and headed towards the Tartus Naval Base located in Syria.
When Saudi Arabia heard the news, they were very frightened. They did not want the war to really burn into Saudi Arabia. So Seriosha's plan appeared again on the desktop of the Saudi cabinet meeting.
After receiving news that Saudi Arabia was willing to negotiate, Seriosha reported to the domestic Politburo by phone. Now the three countries in the Gulf all knew about the Soviet solution and expressed their willingness to take peaceful means to resolve the Kuwait issue.
Chapter completed!