The MENA remains highly important, alternately fascinating and frustrating but full of promise and opportunity in a changing world
UK–Russia relations have been, at best, complicated over the past decade. This has also been apparent in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where London and Moscow have often found themselves taking opposing positions, most obviously over Syria, but also in various other areas. Yet, contrary to those who believe that states which have their differences ...
On September 9, 2021, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) held a closed workshop on approaches of Russia and the UK in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The workshop was organized within the framework of the sixth round of the project “A New Agenda for Russia–UK Relations”.
On September 9, 2021, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) with the Royal ...
... meeting was also attended by representatives of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Embassy in Moscow. During the meeting the parties discussed the following issues: Russian and British positions in conflict situations in the Middle East and North Africa and the possibilities of constructive interaction between Russia and the West in Syria, Libya, and the Persian Gulf. The meeting was moderated by Laurie Bristow, British Ambassador to Russia.
... fruitful areas from the first round, and this third iteration used those previous discussions as a basis for four workshops on the most pressing security issues: the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty; organised crime and terrorism; the Middle East; and cyber security.
Certainly, the four roundtables that RUSI and RIAC hosted on these sensitive but salient security issues brought out some contentious views, but also revealed plenty of scope for practical agreement. The UK and Russian ...
No single power can ‘fix’ the current turmoil in the Middle East. Still, there may be scope for Russia–Europe cooperation in managing the region’s ills
When future historians write about the early 21
st
century, they are likely to single out the crisis in the Middle East as one of the major problems ...
...
During the discussions, the sides determined the common perception of threats and challenges in the Middle East and came to understanding that creating a security system outside the cooperation of the countries of the region and without Russia and the United Kingdom is impossible. They also noted the importance of taking the constantly changing picture of the Middle East and the role of such new independent players in the region as China into account.
Russian delegation was headed by Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General. The delegation included: Vitaly Naumkin, RIAC Member, Academic Director of RAS Institute ...
... brought together experts and former government officials from the two countries to discuss and debate ways in which the UK and Russia’s bilateral security relationship can be better managed.
Initially conceived during a moment in relations when the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation appeared to be on a modestly upward trajectory, relations between the two countries worsened in March 2018 due to the poisoning with a nerve agent of Sergei Skripal and his daughter. The UK has laid the blame ...
... able to restore a regular and systematic dialogue at the highest level?
What are the prospects for cooperation between Russia and Britain in the sphere of security, combating international terrorism and countering extremism, including in the Greater Middle East?
What mechanisms need to be worked out to strengthen confidence-building measures, prevent radicalization and develop cooperation in the fight against cybercrime.
These and other issues related to the past, present and future of Russian-British ...
Military aircraft in the Middle East conflicts
December 18, 2011 was a momentous day for the U.S. Air Force: it flew the
last combat sorties
as part of
Operation New Dawn
, the final phase of the second Iraq War that began in 2003. For the first time since the start of the ...