... and Arab states. With the start of the coronavirus outbreak, Russia launched humanitarian deliveries to Syria, bringing in face masks, coronavirus testing systems, and other medications and medical equipment. Food aid has been no less important for Syrians. In April, Russian grain, which had previously been in short supply on the market, was delivered to the port of Tartus.
Although the European Union expressed its support for the UN Secretary General’s appeal to lift the sanctions off several states, including Syria, so that the needed medical and humanitarian aid could be provided, in practice, Europe’s contribution is doubtful....
On February 19, 2020 the press-conference: “Reconstruction of Syria: Visions from Russia and the EU” will be held at the International Multimedia Press Center MIA "Rossiya Segodnya" (Russia Today). Post-conflict reconstruction of Syria is a vital component of the plans to turn this country into a stable, secure and peaceful ...
On December 4, 2019, in Brussels, Belgium, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) organized a seminar on Syria issues and collective security in the Gulf
On December 4, 2019, in Brussels, Belgium, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) organized a seminar on Syria issues and collective security ...
... This Constitutional process, although chaired by the UN, is vital for the key players in the conflict, particularly Assad’s Syria, Russia and Turkey, who all retain maximum influence in the process. EU states are, to an extent, bystanders. However Europe does ... ... potential influence over the outcome and will be following the process very closely.
There are multiple reasons as to why the European Union has limited influence over this situation. The EU has been sidelined in the conflict, in both its military and ...
... editorial team recently sat down with
Ian Bond
, Director of Foreign Policy at the Centre for European Reform. Bond is an expert in Russia and the former Soviet Union, European foreign policy, as well as Europe/Asia relations and US foreign policy. In this interview,... ... champions, let the market decide, who is the champion and who isn’t.
Recently, Turkey launched military operations in northern Syria. In your opinion, how does the EU see Turkey’s actions in Syria?
I think this will raise a lot of questions for the EU....
The Syrian Crisis: A Thorny Path from War to Peace
The second decade of the 21st century began with a string of explosive protests ... ... ethno-religious cataclysms have been concentrated in precisely this region.
The conflict in Syria unfolded in a historical period when Russia–U.S. relations were slowly, but surely, deteriorating from the erstwhile partnership of the late 1990s and early 2000s ...
The main issue for Moscow in the Middle East in the years ahead will be the implementation of a shift from a military-political approach to an economic one or in other words from risk based approach to opportunity-oriented
Since the start of the Russian military operation in Syria in 2015, the configuration of political forces in the Middle East began to undergo major changes. The dominance of the United States as a key security provider in the region, which was the issue since 1990s and accelerated with the invasion of Iraq ...
... the profound systemic crisis is yet to be found. Most countries (Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia) have launched the needed socioeconomic reforms, albeit belatedly, but outcomes are difficult to predict. In other parts of the Arab world (Syria, Libya, Yemen), civil war has been the means of resolving questions of power. In these countries there is an inextricable tangle of ‘legitimate’ and ‘illegitimate’ governments, numerous militias, terrorist groups, and foreign military contingents,...
... to enter the stage of resource and responsibility allocation to oversee the country’s economic rehabilitation.”
Some Russian and European policy institutions have already elaborated on ways to
reconcile respective differences
in this area. While Russia sees Syrian reconstruction mainly in terms of rebuilding the damaged physical infrastructure, European Union states link the reconstruction efforts to political transition.
Meanwhile in Moscow there are two competing views on how to aid Syria’s recovery. Some argue for the need of political reforms and power transition, while others suggest ...
Framing a quid pro quo in Syria
After more than eight years of conflict in Syria, it is now clear that there won’t be a near-term political transition ... ... governments continue to hope that these cards can be used to extract compromises out of Damascus.
RIAC Report “Squaring the Circle: Russian and European Views on Syrian Reconstruction”
For some European governments the path to possible progress also depends ...
