The Valdai Discussion Club held a conference on security issues in the Middle East
Photo: Edward CHESNOKOV
In the West, “think tanks” – informal intellectual centers for the analysis of international problems – have existed for a century. In the 21st century, this also appeared in our country. The Valdai Discussion Club brings together Russian and foreign experts to discuss how to move from US centrality to a new multipolar world with minimal losses.
And on Tuesday, February 28, the Valdai Club kicked off the twelfth annual Middle East conference in Moscow. This time the hottest region on earth was discussed in the context of Ukrainian affairs.
“Despite US pressure, Middle Eastern partners take a balanced position on the Ukraine crisis, in accordance with their national interests,” said one of the most respected guests of the event, the deputy. Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Bogdanov. — Russia will continue to work to strengthen stability in the region.
Old readers of Komsomolskaya Pravda remember that in the last century the USSR was very active here. But, like the United States today, it adhered to the “en bloc thinking” of the Cold War era. For example, in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Moscow worked exclusively with the Arabs. And he ignored a potential new ally: Iran, where the anti-American revolution took place in 1979.
And now Russia is interacting with all the regional players: Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar, Israel… Moreover, each of these countries has quite tense relations with the others.
However, as in that saying that “there would be no happiness”, the main reason for the rapprochement of such disparate actors is the economic aggression of the United States:
– If the West imposes sanctions against Russia, then it is forced to turn to the East, to develop the North-South logistics corridor (Moscow-Baku-Tehran), – said the chief. Department of Political Science and International Relations of the Islamic Azad University in Iran – Kayhan Bargezar.
According to the expert, this leads to the collapse of the old commodity chains. But if Russia is successfully reorienting towards the “eastern” countries, then it is not clear what the West should do, first of all, Europe. Just plunge into the crisis.
A similar idea was expressed by one of the most respected Russian orientalists, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vitaly Naumkin:
— With the withdrawal of the Americans from Afghanistan, there is a power vacuum in the region. The role of the “non-West” is growing. At the same time, “non-West” is not some kind of monolithic bloc or strategic military alliance (like NATO), but simply a community of states, each of which does not want to succumb to the pressure of globalists, the scientist. noted.
“The pressure on countries that disagree with the Western approach is not just on governments,” complained adviser to the Syrian president, Buseyn Shaaban. – There is an American base “Et-Tanf”. This area was liberated from terrorists with the support of our Russian friends. But the Americans stationed their troops there. Because? Because this is the most important “triple point” on the border of Syria, Iraq and Jordan. And the Westerners’ strategy is to prevent any cooperation in the Middle East, because this will undermine their influence.
So it is understandable why players from the Middle East look with hope to the new centers of power (primarily Russia) – we offer everyone not disunity, but unity. Common and indivisible security. What they talked about at the conference.
