Russian International Affairs Council head Ivan Timofeev has told RT India that the UAE’s decision could reshape the global energy market

The United Arab Emirates’ decision to withdraw from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is a natural move, a top Russian policy expert has said.

Membership in any organization is relevant when it corresponds to national interests, Russian International Affairs Council General Director Ivan Timofeev said on an RT India panel. “When the perception of the national interest changes, it’s reasonable to expect that a state or member changes its stance.”

Timofeev added that given the current tensions in the Middle East, it is natural to expect a major player like the UAE to “strive to keep more free hands in terms of supplies... extraction [and] other factors which determine its national income.”

Though the Iran war significantly triggered the decision, the origins of this move emerged beforehand, he said. “But what is clear is that the attack against Iran stimulated and galvanized this way of thinking.”

Russia has welcomed the UAE’s move as a “sovereign decision.”

Also speaking on the panel, the host of RT’s New Order, Afshin Rattansi, noted that the UAE is already preparing for the post-war scenario. “There will be conversations in Delhi at the BRICS summit exactly about what a multipolar world means for energy resources,” he said.