... are explosive, and the Kremlin realized this very quickly. It has taken its foot off the pedal, as it were.
The operation in Syria is a different case altogether, consistent with a national objective of regaining superpower status. Russia intruded on ... ... force demonstrates Moscow’s capacity to carry out such missions on a regular basis. The offer of cooperation with the West in this field demonstrates co-equal status. And Moscow’s readiness to abruptly alter relations with those that do not ...
... far as to claim that the only thing Moscow was doing in Syria was bombing innocent civilians, so that the refugee flow to Europe would undermine the Union and its security.
Discussions on Euro-Atlantic security were equally strained. Just like with Syria, Russia and the West are anything but united on the issue, and their positions continue to diverge. Instead of combining our efforts to combat common security threats (terrorism and other forms of extremism, migration, etc.) we have essentially entered a new phase of ...
... Novosti
Ivan Timofeev:
7 Trends for Russian Foreign Policy You Need
to Know
The question of whether to cooperate with Russia may be controversial, particularly in light of Russian behaviour in Ukraine. But the seriousness of the challenges facing the West, not least of which is Syria, demonstrates that a way forward must be found. What officials across Europe, particularly those in Brussels, must ask themselves now is not should we try to cooperate with Russia but how far and on what issues? This conversation must not take place ...
... the West is more than likely. U.S and Russia share the same interests in Syria: The importance in defeating the ISIS and protecting civilians from hunger. Nevertheless, practically, there are short-term issues that need to be resolved. Russia and the West have different tactics and ‘bombing targets’ in Syria. United States claims that the regime of Bashar al-Assad is the core of the instabilities in Syria, while Putin is still supporting Syrian president. As Michael McFaul (2016) has claimed “Assad cannot remain in power for the simple reason ...
... over who counts as a terrorist versus legitimate opposition in Syria will be in renewed focus. In the recent past, Russia has repeatedly stated that an internationally agreed upon definition of terrorism would provide the grounds for co-operation on Syria. But the fact of the matter is that Russia and the West have almost never seen eye-to-eye on what defines terrorism, and this divergence is driven by differing political interests, more than anything else.
Russian talk that all “antiterrorist efforts have to
rest on a solid foundation of international ...
... we come to some understanding about how to resolve the Ukrainian crisis in the heart of Europe there will a big problem in Russia – West relations, and it will not reduce an importance.
There is a very considerable concern in Europe and in the West about precisely what Russia is doing in Syria, a lot of concern about the fact that Russian aircraft seems to be attacking not ISIL positions but the positions of any and every opponent of president Assad, with a view to strengthening his position on the ground. Now I think that in the West ...
... of the international community should include multifaceted involvement in the socioeconomic revival of Ukraine once the most urgent political problems have been resolved.
Of course, there will always be significant differences in how Russia and the West view the futures of Syria and Ukraine. It is also clear that the interests of foreign forces involved in the Syrian and Ukrainian – and in any other regional crisis, for that matter – will never dovetail one hundred per cent. Differences in assessments of the ...
... Aces in Syrian Skies
Of course, in theory, there was no need for Moscow to conduct multi-week and beyond a doubt extremely difficult negotiations with the United States, the European Union, Saudi Arabia and other countries. Russia could well enter the Syrian conflict without any coordination, and the West’s position would hardly have differed from its current “strategic patience.” First, because the goal in minds is to fight “absolute evil,” and, second, because Russia, generally speaking, is solving the Americans’ ...
... its relations with the West and to display its readiness to be a global power.
Second, although Russia's relations with certain Middle Eastern states are hardly healthy, they are free of the kind of burdens seen in Russia-West dialogue. Cooperation on Syria with the West will always remain a sort of projection of the entire bilateral relationship.
Third, it is the countries in the region that are most interested in Syrian normalization and the restoration of order to this territory swamped in chaos.
As for the search ...
Interview with Daniel Hamilton, Executive Director, Center for Transatlantic Relations, John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
On October 20, 2015 RIAC held a meeting with foreign experts on “Russian and Western Views on Conflict Resolution and Security Challenges”. Not surprisingly, two most discussed and difficult topics were Ukraine and Syria. These conflicts are unresolved and there is high probability they will remain so for quite some time. RIAC has asked one of the participants to discussion, Prof.
Daniel Hamilton
, Executive Director, Center for Transatlantic Relations, John Hopkins ...
