Middle powers’ pursuit of status: Saudi Arabia and Turkey’s mediation in the Russia–Ukraine war

This article analyses how Saudi Arabia and Turkey have positioned themselves as mediators in the Russia–Ukraine war and what these efforts reveal about their broader foreign policy strategies. While the war has threatened international stability, energy markets and supply chain security, and posed particular challenges for both Saudi Arabia and Turkey, it has also paved the way for them to emerge as intermediary actors. Drawing on a middle power activism framework and insights from the international relations literature on status seeking, this article examines the priorities, interests and policy preferences that guided the mediation initiatives of political elites in Saudi Arabia and Turkey. It argues that these initiatives neither ended the war nor addressed the challenges posed by the ongoing war, producing only limited, context-specific outcomes. Nevertheless, they enabled both states to assert diplomatic relevance and influence. In a way, these mediation efforts – driven by diverse motivations – contributed to their international status claims.