If the US and its allies does go ahead and attack Syria over the alleged use of chemical weapons on civilians, it won’t be a United Nations action.  Syria’s allies in Moscow will use its permanent position on the Security Council to block the UN’s imprimatur.  But one of those US allies is reportedly willing to use back channels to shake that Russian support.

According to The Telegraph in London, Saudi Arabia has secretly taken a carrot-and-stick with Russia if the Kremlin backs away from the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria.  The sweeping deal would give Moscow more control of the global oil market and safeguard Russia’s gas contracts.

Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan paid a visit to President Vladimir Putin three weeks ago, and claimed to speak with the approval of the United States.

“We understand Russia’s great interest in the oil and gas in the Mediterranean from Israel to Cyprus.  And we understand the importance of the Russian gas pipeline to Europe.  We are not interested in competing with that. We can cooperate in this area,” said Bandar, according to a leaked transcript.

The OPEC-Russian petro-alliance would control 45 percent of the world’s oil output:  That’s more than 40 million barrels of the precious juice per day.

Bandar has also reportedly offered to protect Russia’s only Mediterranean Seaport, which is in Syria, and to use its influence on Chechen separatists to put a lid on their activities during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.