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View all search resultsRussia could emerge as Global South's partner amid Iran war, scholar says
A visiting Russian academic has suggested that Global South countries establish a new system of governance and trade, free from Western dominance as the US-Israeli war on Iran shows no signs of ceasing, nearly a week into its second month.
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A man with an umbrella stands along the coast on March 26, 2026, against a backdrop of Sara Sky, a Sierra Leone-flagged tanker carrying Russian crude oil anchored at a jetty in Limay, Bataan province, the Philippines. (AFP/Ted Aljibe)
T
he ongoing United States-Israeli war on Iran poses threats to Global South countries that are struggling with rising oil prices, but alternative countries like Russia may emerge as potential partners to help the region cope with challenges, according to a Russian academic.
The war, which is now in its second month and reportedly has a death toll of more than 3,000 people, continues to escalate as the US and Israel bombard Iranian cities and facilities, met by Tehran’s retaliatory strikes on US military bases in the Middle East.
While heavily affecting the region, the war was also an “aggression against the whole Global South”, said Kirill Babaev, director of the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ICCA RAS).
“This is very dangerous because now every country can think that force is allowed, and this will provoke more conflicts around the world,” Babaev told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday, on the sidelines of his visit to Jakarta.
He also warned that Washington’s disregard for the sovereignty of other nations could lead to further conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Read also: Govt scrambles for oil from anywhere amid Mideast supply crunch
President Donald Trump has expanded US military operations abroad since December, beginning with strikes against Islamic State militants in Nigeria and Syria on Christmas Day 2025. This was followed by an incursion into Venezuela on Jan. 3, during which an elite force seized then-president Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores in Caracas and transported them to a New York detention center.
He has also threatened military action toward acquiring Denmark’s autonomous territory Greenland and most recently, Cuba.
Curbing consumption
Meanwhile the current conflict in the Gulf region has been spreading, with the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon launching attacks on Israel in March, according to Reuters.
The Iran war has disrupted the global economy and pushed up oil prices after Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route connecting the region and markets worldwide.
Countries across Asia, especially those heavily dependent on energy imports like Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, have been scrambling to navigate the resulting economic fallout, seeking alternative supplies and implementing policies aimed at cutting domestic energy consumption.
On Tuesday, Jakarta announced several energy saving measures that included mandating civil servants to work from home on Fridays, with Bangkok and Hanoi adopting similar moves.
Amid the disruption to Mideast oil supplies, which has led to global shortages and price increases, Russia, one of the world’s biggest oil and gas producers, has seen surging demand for its energy exports.
“Russia can get some economic benefits, that’s natural,” Babaev said, adding that even so, the Eastern European country had urged a cessation of hostilities in the Gulf region as soon as possible.
Some countries such as the Philippines have bought oil from Russia since the US-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28 that started the war on Iran. Indonesia has not imported any Russian crude to date, while state-owned energy giant Pertamina asserted it would adhere to the government’s oil import regulations.
Moscow has shown support for close ally Tehran and condemned the US-Israeli attacks as an act of aggression that has led to a catastrophe in the Middle East. Russian President Vladimir Putin has denounced the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the Feb. 28 strikes, calling it a “cynical” murder.
Read also: Putin tells Tehran: Russia stands by Iran
‘Southern’ system?
Amid the Mideast crisis and US policies such as Trump’s tariffs, Babaev suggested that Global South countries could build global governance and trade systems independent of Western dominance, such as through BRICS.
Alongside Brazil, China, India and South Africa, Russia is a founding country of the intergovernmental organization, which has since expanded to 11 full members including Indonesia.
“[The new system] will eventually create a new global infrastructure free from Western dominance that will allow everyone to trade, make financial transactions [and] transport goods without any illegal tariffs or sanctions,” he said.
