... of Josep Borrel’s peace-making trip to Ankara, Turkey’s exhibition of
Realpolitik cum Machtpolitik
, and, finally, after the bombing of Turkey-supported targets in Libya (
al-Watiya
), the EU seems to be changing its mind. After all, Erdogan's Libya intervention has secured substantial international condemnation by numerous actors - France, Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Cyprus, Greece, and Russia - sufficient to miss the next “SOFT POWER 30.” Inevitably, Russian Soft Power is being victimized by the Erdogan association. Hence Moscow, uniquely capable of containing its trouble-making associate, is ideally placed to take appropriate initiatives: ...
... General, held an online meeting with Jacob Livne, Chargé d'Affaires of Israel in the Russian Federation, and Yosef Zilberman, First Secretary of the Israeli Embassy in Moscow.
The discussion focused on the state and prospects for resolving conflicts in Syria and Libya, as well as Russia's role in the Middle East and North Africa. Andrey Kortunov informed Israeli diplomats about RIAC research activity on the Middle East project. The meeting also addressed the possibilities of expanding cooperation between Russian and Israeli international ...
... point on the Russia-West global agenda, which is already overburdened with many acute problems. At the same time, it has become apparent that domestic driving forces increasingly trump extra-regional influences such as the geopolitical rivalry between Russia and the US, between Western states (France, Italy, Germany, Greece), including Turkey, as is happening in Libya, between the regional powers themselves (Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UAE, Qatar) in Yemen, or between all of them in Syria.
The pandemic has affected Libya, Syria and Yemen to a lesser degree than the US and West European states. At the same time, the number of cases is still growing and is gradually approaching the limits of their capacities as these countries are ...
... the Iranian Republican Guard Corps to intervene when ordered.
Thus, three main focal points will prevail in 2020:
First: the impact of global economic trends on domestic politics; the influence of regional power struggles on unresolved conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Libya. In many ways, these dynamics are interconnected and feed into one another. However, evidence of increased contact with Russia by countries like Egypt and Jordan should be taken in the context of the US disengagement from the region, which began during the Obama administration, and concern about the Trump administration's disorganised, chaotic foreign policy. Furthermore,...
... Belgium and, for the time being, the United Kingdom) are currently on the UN Security Council, Europe’s stance on nuclear matters is barely audible.
As far as we can tell, the tentative steps taken by Paris and Berlin to open a dialogue with Moscow on Syria have not led to any practical actions. Also, it would seem that the “selective engagement” between Europe and Russia on Libya is equally doomed.
The European Union and Russia have still not got around to coordinating their positions with regard to the Iranian nuclear issue and to relations with Iran as a whole. And while the stances of the two sides on the settlement ...
... allies.
Our diplomacy is very effective, especially in the Middle East. There is not a single country in the region with which Russia has tensions or bad relations or no ties at all. During Soviet times we had no relations with the Saudis and had very complicated ties with the Gulf monarchies. We were on very good terms with the countries we supported – Libya, Egypt, Syria and Sudan. They all collapsed in the 1990s. Now everyone is looking for our mediation, Egypt, for one. Egypt has a good ...
... ground. In places with ongoing fighting and a major foreign military engagement (such as Syria), the name of the game should be escalation avoidance and pressure on conflicting... ... situations where conflicting sides are not yet ready for a political compromise (such as Libya, possibly), the priority for external players might be to work together to contain... ... dealing with both the security and development sides of the regional crisis.
Europe and Russia have more stakes in the Middle East than other global players, like the United...
... the region, possible mechanisms and sequencing of solutions to Middle East issues.
The discussion focuses on acute crises in Syria, Yemen, and Libya, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and potential instability in other countries of the region. Aleksandr Aksenyonok, RIAC Vice-President, and Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General, represent Russian side at the meeting.
... table with the participation of experts, representatives of the academic community, and non-governmental organizations from Russia, Italy, Germany, Austria, and the United Kingdom. The round table discussed the issues of modern security architecture ... ...
Regional scenarios were presented and analyzed at the round table in order to develop recommendations for crisis management in Syria, Libya, and Yemen involving all concerned parties for constructive interaction.
... caused much anxiety both in Damascus and Ankara.
Turkish fears are hardly ungrounded, as the process is fuelling the Kurds that confront the Turkish government.
Quite logically, the Syrian problem was discussed by Sergey Lavrov and Walid al-Muallem, Russian and Syrian foreign ministers, during
Mr. Lavrov’s visits to Algeria
in February and March, as well as by Turkish top officials.
Algeria and the Libya Crisis
The role of Algeria also seems of paramount importance in view of Libya. Back in 2011, when Westerners and their regional allies unleashed a military intervention against Tripoli to topple Muammar Kaddafi, the Algerian
leaders openly assisted ...
