The incident that occurred in the skies over Syria when a Turkish F-16 shot down a Russian Su-24 got the whole world talking about how close we came to an all-out conflict in the Middle East. Some commentators have suggested that today we are closer to an open conflict between Russia and NATO than ever before since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Quite surprisingly while Russia watchers have insisted that if a conflict between ...
... NATO to counteract the USSR. After the USSR collapsed, they switched to fighting Islamism in Turkey and were even plotting to topple Erdogan. Perhaps now, after the truce, NATO is using the group inside the country for other purposes.
The U.S. Greater Middle East project, for example, assigns a big role to Kurdistan in various forms. If tensions arise in the region (a downed plane is a clear signal of that), then NATO troops can go in and create a Kurdish corridor along the Turkey–Syria border,...
... However, during its 70-year-long partnership with the Saudis, Washington preferred to focus on
pragmatic aspects
, proceeding from the tenet that there are two sides to every coin. Over many decades this approach suited both parties in that convoluted Middle Eastern system that operates to a brutal but still clear-cut pattern. But the Arab Spring markedly diversified the regional palette of political actors and trends, in the process throwing up many more nuances in relations between the allies Washington ...
... of settling key MENA problems.
Opening remarks were made by RIAC Program Director Ivan Timofeev and Valdai Academic Director Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of
Russia in Global Affairs
magazine and RIAC member, who said that “events in the Middle East will have far-reaching consequences and even specialists are just arriving at realization of the fact.”
The presentation was followed by a debate with participation of Research Fellow at RAS Institute for Oriental Studies Vladimir Sazhin,...
...
Boris Dolgov, Russian Academy of Sciences
The armed confrontation in Syria between the Syrian regime and the radical 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 ...
The attacks will almost inevitably lead to an escalation of war in Iraq and Syria, as well as to changes in the balance of forces in the Middle East as a whole.
Although it will take time to truly evaluate the consequences of the November 13 massacre in Paris for the French, European and world politics, some conclusions can be made now.
The attacks will almost inevitably lead to an escalation ...
Jordan is oftentimes characterized as a Middle Eastern exception and paradox: an explicitly artificial colonial construct, and yet resilient and durable. The recent rise of new security challenges, such as the rise of the Islamic State, calls for a thorough analysis an exploration of the factors ...
On November 9, 2015, RIAC was the venue for the rollout ceremony of monograph “Conflicts and Wars of the 21st Century: Middle East and North Africa” presented to the audience by Academic Advisor of RAS Institute for Oriental Studies Vitaly Naumkin, a RIAC member, and Dina Malysheva, Chief Researcher of the same institute. The authors analyzed the conflict dynamics ...
... emanating from the radical ideology. He expressed concern over the competition between various schools of Islam for influence on Russian Muslims on the scholar, clerical and grassroots level.
The participants exchanged opinions on key issues of the Middle East and Syria developments, as well as on the interethnic and interfaith dialogue. The Grand Mufti was also presented RIAC’s key publications.
Grand Mufti of Syria at RIAC
... success of ISIS and the opposition in their struggle against the governmental forces and the fact that they have captured new areas turned the threat of a disintegration of the Syrian state — and subsequent spreading of instability across the entire Middle Eastern region — into an alarming reality of a turbulent future.
Naturally, the Russian military operation in Syria implies serious risks, primarily for Russia itself, and is far from accomplishing its original objectives; albeit certain ...
