... region, like in many other parts of the world. The evident lack of trust between Moscow and Western capitals might complicate many regional problems, including resurrecting the Iranian JCPOA, maritime security arrangements in the Gulf, deconflicting in Syria, and multilateral mechanisms for dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If Russia, alongside China, the U.S., and the EU, approaches the MENA security problems as a zero-sum game, this is likely to further complicate any progress in addressing security challenges in the MENA region. Unfortunately, it seems likely that the region ...
... treats it as a secondary issue linked to other, more important policy issues, such as dealings with Iran and the nuclear deal, relations with Turkey, which happens to brand US-backed Syrian Kurdish militias (YPG) as terrorists, as well as dealings with Russia who, in recent years, has become more active in Syria and in the region at large, or ensuring security of US allies in the region (Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, etc.) who feel threatened by increased Iranian military presence in Syria. Therefore, the Syrian profile is largely viewed in the context of US policies towards Iran, Russia and Turkey, rather than as a separate foreign ...
... crises and to which extent the interests of Moscow and Tehran overlap or contradict each other. Some of the key issues of the political situation in the region were assessed, such as the situation in Idlib, the prospects for a political process in Syria, Israel’s role in the region’s future, the path to Syria’s reconstruction and the impact of U.S. policies on the emerging new order in the Middle East. Both Russia and the Islamic Republic of Iran regard each other as necessary components of the regional architecture that they envision for the Middle East. The paper attempts to shed light on the views of Moscow and Tehran on these issues.
Russia and Iran ...
... currently rather convergent and contrary to Ankara’s ambitions in the sub-region. Both Israel and the UAE have a high degree of confidence in Washington and their lobbying... ... powerful blow to U.S.-Turkey relations, already severely tested in connection with the Syrian Kurds and Fethullah Gülen, the Turkish preacher accused of instigating the 2016... ... and Germany. Nevertheless, it appears that joint efforts by NATO’s key members and Russia could create opportunities to develop mechanisms for preventing the situation...
... external aid and progress in the intra-Syrian dialogue into a single stabilization package.
Maxim Suchkov:
Russia in the Middle East: “Be with Us — and Remain Yourself”
Another important set of issues raised by our Damascus partners pertains to Russia being “an ally for Syria, Israel, Iran and Turkey” in the continuing conflict and to what the nature of Russia–U.S. contacts is.
It is no secret that the foreign political services of both countries have always maintained a working exchange of current information. This is ...
... Syrian side cannot ask Russia to see things the same way that they do.
If the alliances are no longer perfect, complete and mutually beneficial, then their underlying logic is now hugely different to what it had been in the past. We can see here how Russia may already be an ally for Syria, Israel, Iran and Turkey and be in a position to win their confidence. This was useful for the people of Syria, although it was also a source of anxiety for them. But this is the nature of world politics today, and the Syrian people need to “adapt” ...
The seminar was divided into two sessions: "Political instability in Lebanon and Iraq: View from Russia and Israel" and "Libya: between Turkey, Egypt and others?"
On July 28, 2020, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) together with the Center for Political Research, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, with the support of the Embassy ...
... 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 affairs think tanks.
... profound absence of a coherent policy will affect regional actors such as Turkey, Iran and Israel. Thus, the Gulf is slated to explode even without war on Iran because the whole... ... reached among militant groups in addition to Turkey, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, the USA and Russia. The impeachment process of US President Donald Trump and the US role in the... ... region would determine the future of conflicts in many countries starting from Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya and the future government in Lebanon, Iraq and Algeria, Turkey and...
... live together in the region. And this is mostly Russia’s point. However, when it is related to Syria, we see that there are a number of cases in which Russia has tried to make Iranians or Iranian-connected groups back away from the border between Israel and Syria. So this the approach that Russia will take in the future.
Timur Makhmutov, Ruslan Mamedov:
Russia and the Arab Mashreq: The Post-Conflict Period in Syria
Does Russia regard President Bashar al-Assad as dispensable?
Well, first of all, Russia’s approach towards Syria is mostly ...
