... and its Syria policy—either through increasing pressure on Ankara or trying to co-opt it by addressing its concerns and moderating the Turkish-Kurdish agreement. Such steps can potentially change the course of the conflict, thus profoundly affecting Russian positions in Syria.
Similar logic applies to the US policy towards Iran and to the revival of the JCPOA. Washington would very much like to tie the nuclear deal to other issues of concern, such as Iran’s ballistic missile program and/or its “malign activities in the region”, including those in Syria. Such an approach aspires to change Iran’s ...
This article is part of the Russia-EU: Promoting Informed Dialogue project supported by the European Union in Russia.... ... Trump delivered on his promise to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) six-nation agreement on the Iranian nuclear program. In 2019, he canceled the... ... between their leaders would help deal with incidents: U.S.-Russian deconfliction in Syria has demonstrated the effectiveness of maintaining contacts. Yet deconfliction...
... hopefully this can be used to foster more positive outcomes. The goal is to stabilize Syria and find a compromise that allows for the country’s reconstruction within a... ... see movement in this domain. All of this stems from Trump’s decision to exit the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or Iran nuclear deal) and Europe’s adamant... ... stepping stone for further dialogue with Iran on the Middle East.
Please tell us about Russia–EU cooperation in the Middle East.
Andrey Kortunov:
The Astana Model: Methods...
... parties to stop escalating. Ideally, the Russians and the Europeans should work together and offer both Iran and The US some space for political maneuver, building upon repeated declarations by the Iranian leaders that they do not want to leave the JCPOA and no less frequently repeated declarations by president Trump that he is ready to discuss around a table with Iranian leaders.
Second, Europe and Russia should try to overcome their differing viewpoints on the Iranian military presence, and more general engagement, in Syria
. Perhaps a practical way forward could consist of distinguishing the long-term perspective from the short-term challenges. Regarding the long term, it’s not too early for Russia and Europe to start discussing foreign military presences in Syria ...
... transparency under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.” [
24
]
The JCPOA, which came into force in January 2016, had been expected to ease global political... ... However, no changes to the regional situation materialized [
25
]. The developments in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, the establishment of, and de-facto lack of a regional institutional... ... the inability of regional powers to face up to the new challenges and threats gave Russia, as a long-standing regional player and a member of the nuclear club, the opportunity...
... accumulated potential of Iran’s telecom companies in communications control.
***
Despite the critical situation surrounding the JCPOA, which further deepens Iran’s domestic political crisis, Tehran is still determined to consolidate its positions in Syria in the long term and, should the situation allow, partially follow the Lebanese scenario. Insufficient resources make the task far more difficult, and Tehran is forced to act with regard to Russia and China’s support, given the unwillingness of European investors to invest in post-war rebuilding of Syria. Iran also ...
Relations between the U.S. and Russia appear to be almost at the point of no return
Relations between the U.S. and ... ... terms in the aftermath. Then, in early April 2017, the U.S. fired 59 cruise missiles at Syrian airbase on grounds that the Syrian military had allegedly used chemical weaponry... ... Korea, and the Middle East.
How might the 2013 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear accord with Iran impact U.S. Missile Defense deployments in Europe —...
... especially the elements that favor more responsible regional policies, pushing Iran into a more constructive relationship with the GCC states. Many JCOPA proponents also believe that the US remains as committed as ever to the security of the GCC states.
GCC-Russian relations have maintained their positive trajectory and pragmatic nature in spite of the JCPOA, setting aside the disagreements over Syria. The region’s complexities have thus far prevented any major breakthroughs, the economic cooperation has continued to develop, as well as an understanding that the two sides’ shared interests exceed the areas of disagreement, and that sustained ...
