A welcome thaw.

Saudi Arabia and Iran's decision to seek rapprochement is most welcome. Their resolve to re-establish full diplomatic ties, after a hiatus of almost a decade, simply underlines the indispensability of interdependence in state-centrism, and the fact that ruptures and revulsion cannot stand for long. This diplomatic feat, moreover, has come under the aegis of China, which has intensified its significance and underlined the new role of the economic superpower in the Middle East. It is profoundly soothing that Riyadh and Tehran did not shy away from accepting the good offices of Beijing in brokering reconciliation and have, in fact, widened the scope of inter-state relations to new vistas of cooperation and understanding.

Both the Islamic states are powers to be reckoned with in the region. Their going astray by picking proxies to further their unstated objectives in the yesteryears has derailed bilateralism. It is a good omen that they have publicly announced a timeline of two months to re-open their respective embassies, and reaffirmed their commitment to non-interference in internal affairs. Likewise, the prologue says they wish to re-activate a 2001 security cooperation agreement, and work for...

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