The GCC countries expect Moscow to influence Iran, limiting the dangers it poses
“The US’ withdrawal from the Middle East has strengthened GCC countries’ desire to create intraregional coalitions and to look for an external security provider. Russia might fit the bill, though the conflict in Ukraine throws this into question.
The GCC countries expect Moscow to influence Iran, limiting ...
The U.S.-Saudi Arabia-Iran Tensions: It Seemed We Were Moving Towards a Conflict More Dramatic Than Anything ... ... the “Persian Gulf: War and Peace” session of the
9th Valdai Discussion Club’s Middle East Conference
(Moscow, February 17–18, 2020).
Wars have terrible consequences... ... I think it was a huge mistake to enact the blockade of Qatar and threaten a fellow GCC state in such a way, it also exacerbated problems in the sub-region. An unintended...
... including collective security in the Middle East.
Shehab Al Makahleh, Maria Al Makahleh:
2020 Forecast: Revealing the Future of the Middle East
A role for non-regional players
While regional players should be in the lead, there is room for some external players ... ... "EU3 +3" grouping (excluding US, but adding India).
Such a format could be instrumental to work on the basis of the Iranian HOPE project on the one hand and a counterproposal coming from the GCC on the other hand. If both Iran and Saudi Arabia were to join the endeavour launched by this potential EU3+3, a new animal ...
... from ISIS to Hezbollah. We have done work together with key leaders in Europe and the Middle East to try to establish contact points between them. This week we are moving... ... and the Gulf. The EU has a specific relationship with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), they have been working on a free trade agreement for some 18 years and it is still... ... militias.
Also, over the past 6–7 years, Qatar has started to work very closely with Iran, while Saudi Arabia and Iran have hostile relationships. Iran is responsible for...
... that the strategic long-term challenges to the effective development and security of the Middle East and North Africa are not so much political as they are economic and humanitarian... ... Its purpose would be to unite against someone, not cooperate for the sake of something. Iran, without whose support countries like Russia and Turkey cannot imagine a successful... ... formats.
Another proposal calls for the creation of a format that would bring together the GCC, Iran and Iraq (so-called GCC+2) [
48
]. In the initial phase, this new format...
... which may help when it comes to implementing joint economic initiatives and ensuring security.
Russia–China cooperation in the Middle East should not merely be aimed at countering the U.S. actions. Through the interaction of all three influential external ... ... context, it would be worth studying further the issue of creating a security architecture in the region.
Yulia Sveshnikova:
Iran’s Presence in Syria: Is It There for the Long Haul?
Moscow, Beijing and Washington could suggest setting up a security system in the Persian Gulf in the GCC+2 format (adding Iraq and Iran). In addition, Russia traditionally maintains working contacts with Saudi Arabia [
32
] and ...
... Iran into an eternal and irreconcilable enemy of the Arab states and the source of all evil – replacing Israel, of which the report makes no mention at all.
REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
Igor Ivanov:
Is a Collective Security System Possible in
the Middle East?
Point No. 4.
The GCC states must build a strategic deterrence system to guard against Iran’s interference into the Arab countries’ affairs.
The authors believe that pushing back against Iran is the basis for Arab unity, which, in turn, could replace the Islamist alternative that has prevailed for the past half century and become ...
... opposition represents, together with the actions of the “Islamic State” (IS), the main military-political crisis in the Middle East today. It has also become one of the most acute global conflicts, involving all major world powers. The leading countries of NATO and the European Union (EU), Russia, China and key regional states – Turkey, Iran, Israel, the GCC members and the Arabic countries neighboring Syria - have all focused their attention on the Syrian conflict.
The crisis can ...
October 2015
1. Introduction
In July 2015, the P5 + 1 countries reached a deal on the Iranian nuclear program and on the lifting of economic sanctions imposed on Iran. This important development in Middle Eastern strategy led to extensive commentary from many different stakeholders, including the governments of the United States, Israel, Iran, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
Russian and GCC commentators are very familiar with both Iranian and Western views regarding this decision. However, Russian and GCC commentators are relatively lacking in information about each other’s perspectives on this key development,...
... Crown Prince Mohammed, his own son. The two officials are responsible for KSA’s foreign policy in war-torn regions of the Middle East, as well as for domestic security policy. Both Abu Dhabi and Manama sent Crown Princes, real policy makers in their ... ... the end of the summit Barack Obama made it abundantly clear that he cannot sacrifice the chance for a historic breakthrough in Iran nuclear talks for GCC’s comfort. “I want to be very clear: The purpose of any strategic cooperation is not to perpetuate any long-term ...