On June 7, 2019, in Moscow, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) held a seminar “Russia and EU in Post-War Syria: Finding Common Ground”. Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General; Julien Barnes-Dacey, Director, Middle East and North Africa Program, ECFR; and Yegor Stepkin, Third Secretary of the Department of International Organizations of the Russian Foreign Ministry; made opening speeches.
On June 7, 2019, in Moscow, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) held a seminar “Russia and EU in Post-War Syria: Finding Common Ground”. Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General; Julien Barnes-Dacey, Director, Middle East and North Africa Program, ECFR; and Yegor Stepkin, Third Secretary of the Department of International Organizations of the Russian Foreign Ministry; made opening speeches.
The event consisted of two sessions. The first was devoted to the conditions necessary for political progress and the restoration in Syria. Presentations were made by Vitaly Naumkin, Academic Director of RAS Institute for Oriental Studies, RAS Academician, RIAC Member; and Pierre Vimont, Executive Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (retired), former Ambassador of France to the US. The discussion was moderated by Ruslan Mamedov, RIAC Program Coordinator.
The second session focused on searching the ways to stabilize the situation in Syria and to prevent the humanitarian crisis. The session was moderated by Ellie Geranmayeh, Deputy Head of ECFR MENA Program. Julien Barnes-Dacey, Director, MENA Program, ECFR; and Vasily Kuznetsov, Director of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at the RAS Institute of Oriental Studies; made reports. The experts also discussed the impact of sanctions on the restoration of Syria, the role of regional and extra-regional powers in the Syrian settlement, etc. At the end of the meeting, Andrey Kortunov and Julien Barnes-Dacey affirmed the importance for continued interaction between RIAC and ECFR on the Middle East issues. Timur Makhmutov, RIAC Deputy Director of Programs, summarized the results of the seminar.
The event was attended by representatives of leading Russian research centers: IMEMO; MGIMO, MFA of Russia; HSE; RAS Institute of Oriental Studies; RIAC experts, staff members, and others.
