... government. The leaders of the UAE and Oman received visits from President Bashar Assad, while Algeria openly called for the return of Syria to the LAS in November 2022 at a summit held in the country’s capital. Yet, it is believed that the tough stance of Saudi Arabia, unhappy with Damascus’ close ties with Tehran, was an obstacle. The March agreement to reduce tensions between the KSA and the IRI apparently changed the Kingdom’s attitude towards Bashar al-Assad for the better. Riyadh’s approach ...
China has effectively coped with its role of facilitator, but now the country will have to enforce the agreements reached
In March 2023, seven years after diplomatic relations were severed, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) have agreed to reopen their embassies. This decision opens up the possibility of reducing tensions in the Gulf and, in the long term, in the entire region of the Middle East. Notably, both sides ...
... place.
Experts from Russia, the USA, a number of European countries, China, and India took part in the discussion. The discussion focused on the consequences of the implementation of the agreement on restoration of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, reached through the mediation of China, in particular, possible progress in resolving civil conflicts in Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon.
Other discussion points included the current political trends in Israel, the dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian ...
... The UAE foreign minister was among the first to visit Damascus, the foreign ministers of Jordan and Egypt visited Syria for the first time in the years of conflict, and the Egyptian president had his first telephone conversation with his Syrian peer. Saudi Arabia, for the first time sent, several planes with humanitarian aid to Syria, whereas Bashar Assad visited Oman for the first time since the inception of the civil war.
Also worth mentioning are the March 13 agreements between Iran and Saudi Arabia,...
... that have impeded the work of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the end to the boycott of Syria by some of them (UAE, Jordan, Bahrain), the establishment of normal interstate relations with Syria, the maintenance of hidden channels of communication between Saudi Arabia and Iran with the assistance of Arab partners, the growing role of the UAE, Egypt and Qatar as moderators of internal conflicts in Lebanon, Iraq, Libya, and much more. Syria is almost central to this process. There is no consensus yet on ...
...
The second factor is
ideological
. The UAE’s leadership has
found
an ideological ally in President Bashar al-Assad, who, similar to UAE's President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has been on a counterrevolutionary crusade against Islamism, while Saudi Arabia and Qatar have supported Islamic radicals in Syria. The UAE was concerned about the empowerment of Islamist movements in Syria and its potentially negative impact on the Levant and the Gulf subregion, including the UAE itself. This is why ...
... seen as a key regional player was exactly the question. As early as by President Obama’s second term, a kind of consensus had been reached in the U.S. after long discussions. Trump was also guided by it, although one of his first trips abroad was to Saudi Arabia. U.S. policy in the Middle East is overly militarized, while meddling in the region’s internal affairs and the resources invested do not yield proper political impact. This leads to the conclusion that the U.S. military presence and political ...
... significantly increased its peace-making efforts in recent years, with the Emirates brokering negotiations between Pakistan and India that resulted in their declaration that they would respect the 2003 cease-fire accord. Earlier in 2018 the UAE together with Saudi Arabia played a key role in mediating the 2018 peace agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia. In 2020 Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed played a key role in the attainment of the Abraham accords between Israel and several Arab states....
... took place.
High-level experts from Russia, the U.S., France, Great Britain, Germany, Sweden, China, and India took part in the discussion. The discussion focused on the attempts of the leadership of Iraq to mediate in negotiations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, as well as the potential impact of the change of power in Afghanistan on the balance of power in the region and the prospects for strengthening security in the Middle East.
Irina Zvyagelskaya, RIAC Member, Head of the Center for the Middle ...
June 28, 2021, 15:00 GMT+3
On June 28, 2021, Russian International Affairs Council and the Middle East Directions Programme at the European University Institute (EUI) will hold a webinar meeting “A Gradual Approach Towards a New Security System in the Persian Gulf”. Andrey Kortunov, Director General, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and Luigi Narbone, Director of the Middle East Directions Programme, European University Institute (EUI) will deliver opening remarks.
Speakers:
Abdolrasool...
