On May 14, 2018, in Moscow, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) hosted a meeting with the representatives of Institute of West-Asian and African Studies (IWAAS) at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).
On May 14, 2018, in Moscow, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) hosted a meeting with the representatives of Institute of West-Asian and African Studies (IWAAS) at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).
Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General, and Tang Zhichao, Directo of Institute of West-Asian and African Studies (IWAAS) at CASS, made opening speeches.
Timur Makhmutov, RIAC Deputy Director of Programs, moderated the meeting.
Russian and Chinese experts discussed the strategy of interaction between the two countries in the Middle East. The researchers touched upon a wide range of issues, including cooperation within SCO, the attitude to regional security, and the role of world powers in the Middle East. The parties discussed the increased influence of Moscow and Beijing in the affairs of the region in the context of the weakening role for the United States. For example, it was stated that the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA does not automatically mean that the international agreements will disintegrate. Chinese experts underscored the important role of China in the development of the Middle East economies. In addition, the experts discussed the role of Russia and China in the post-conflict reconstruction in Syria, the opportunities to create industry in Syria and Iraq in situation of sanctions.
Representatives from Russia Alexander Kramarenko, RIAC Director for Development, Ruslan Mamedov, RIAC Program Assistant, Yuri Barmin, Grigory Lukyanov (HSE), and Aleksey Khlebnikov, RIAC experts, also took part in the meeting.