... Andrey Kortunov and Kazem Jalali noted the need to maintain and develop contacts between Russian and Iranian think tanks in the new realities. Ruslan Mamedov spoke about the studies carried out by RIAC on the Middle East vector and specifically about the Russian-Iranian area of studies at RIAC. The parties exchanged views on the formats to strengthen further the links between the analytical centers of the two countries and then proceeded to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the situation in the region and on ...
... architecture. Russia proposes to extend the last legally binding agreement limiting nuclear arsenals of Russia and the US — START III. The EU has welcomed this proposal. Nevertheless, the Americans have decided to bide their time. In this respect, both for Russia and Iran, this US withdrawal from the JCPOA is not an exception, but one of the elements of Washington’s system policy. Moreover, this characteristic of American politics means that it makes no sense for Iran to make a new deal with such an inconsistent ...
... the sub-region of the Middle East: North Africa, the Gulf and the Fertile Crescent (the Levant and Iraq). The focus will be on resolving the Syrian crisis with the victory of the Assad regime and allies. Yet, Russian-Turkish ties will be affected by Russian-Syrian-Iranian intervention near the Turkish border. The threat that this would impose on the Turkish armed forces could spark a proxy war in Syria or at least in the North-West of the country.
Lebanon and Iraq would undergo a state of great internal turmoil ...
... disaster will affect primarily local countries, not the US mainland. If there is no time and no political will around to put together a regional collective security system, one should at least think about a regional crisis management mechanism involving Iran and key neighboring Arab starts. Concerned overseas powers – like Russia, China, India, and EU – could assist in building this mechanism working with their respective regional partners. We should regard the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani as a wakeup call, not as a trumpet of the approaching Armageddon.
...
... coerce others? These are the questions addressed in the RAND think tank's recent
report
"
Fighting Shadows in the Dark. Understanding and Countering Coercion in Cyberspace
". The authors discuss cyber operations conducted by four states — Russia, China, Iran and North Korea — and try to determine whether those activities amounted to cyber coercion.
Starting with the study findings, we will highlight the following points. Cyber operations intended to coerce are a small subset of overall cyber operations ...
... potentially boost the EU’s influence looking forward.
The reality is that, like it or not, the West, including Europe, are on the losing side of the conflict in Syria and this automatically limits leverage. While the war still isn’t over, it is clear that Russia, Turkey, Iran and Assad are the major players who will define its final stages, with a limited role for the US. While we may now be seeing a gradual end to the military phase, the peace and post-conflict phases are still to be defined. Ultimately, there are no ...
... these projects have stalled in recent years due to economic and domestic political
reasons
.
Expanding trade and economic cooperation with Iran is also beneficial for Russia. Trade turnover between the two countries totalled USD 1.741 billion in 2018. Russian exports into Iran are estimated at USD 1.208 billion, while Iranian exports into Russia totalled USD 533 million. Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Kozak,
estimates
that Russian business will earn additional USD 150 million annually when the ...
... Foreign Policy in the Middle East: Achievements and Limitations
How does Moscow view the Israeli-Iranian rivalry in Syria?
While talking about the Israeli-Iranian rivalry, Russia of course has managed to have working relations with both Israel and Iran. Russia recognizes the interests of both states in the region. But the main issue here is when the Israelis and Iranians are coming to Moscow in the bilateral track; it shows us the issue of inclusivity and exceptionalism in the Middle East. Both Iran ...
... strategic purpose of complying with the OPEC+ agreement, Russia’s spare capacity today is 0.2–0.3 million barrels a day. Russian producers could use these capacities. However, this requires all OPEC/OPEC+ participants to take a joint stance on the ... ... should think about filling the market niche. Paradoxically, the only country capable of supplying the required volumes of oil is Iran, whose production has fallen by approximately 2 million barrel per day due to U.S. sanctions.
Tehran denies its involvement ...
Macron can achieve tactical, albeit quite tangible, successes in its policy on Russia and Iran
Discussions about the role of the European Union (EU) in international affairs pushed into the background global ambitions of the individual European states. French President Emmanuel Macron firmly recalled that it is too soon to discard European ...
