... option” for Russia in Syria?
The situation around Russia in Syria is up for debate. No doubt, Russia would like to lead a reconstruction effort in Syria, in harmony with all relevant partners, including the UN, the EU, the USA, China, India, Turkey, Iran, Israel, the Sunni Arab states including the Golf Council Countries (GCC-states), Egypt and Morocco. However, many of the parties on the list of wished-for partners are strongly hostile to each other, and it might therefore perhaps not be possible for ...
... states in the periphery of the Arab world. The first was Turkey — a highly controversial, but a very important partner in the Black Sea area and in the Northern and Southern Caucasus, in trade and investment, in energy and in tourism. The second was Iran — another difficult ally, which played an active role in many international matters very important to Moscow — from civil wars in Tajikistan and Afghanistan to the problem of the Caspian Sea partition. The third was Israel, with is large Russian and Russian-speaking diaspora and a thick fabric of political, economic, social, cultural, and human relations between the two countries.
Andrey Kortunov:
On Russia’s Power: is Winter Coming?
As for the Arab core of the ...