An expert meeting to discuss “Russia’s interests in the Greater Middle East and the obstructing factors: changes in the situation following the Arab Spring”, was held at the RIAC on 29 October 2012.
The event was organized within the project “Middle East: Political Developments and Russia’s Interests”.
An expert meeting to discuss “Russia’s interests in the Greater Middle East and the obstructing factors: changes in the situation following the Arab Spring”, was held at the RIAC on 29 October 2012.
The event was organized within the project “Middle East: Political Developments and Russia’s Interests”.
The session was opened by RIAC General Director Andrei Kortunov. Director of the Oriental Studies Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, RAS Corresponding Member Vitaliy Naumkin acted as moderator.
Participants in the discussion were experts from the Oriental Studies Institute, RAS, the World Economy and International Relations Institute, Mikhail Lomonosov Moscow State University, Higher School of Economics (Moscow) and Moscow State International Relations Institute (MGIMO University), and also executives and experts from the VNESHECONOM Bank and the Commerce and Industry Chamber of the Russian Federation.
The key topics of discussion covered:
- The Middle East as part of Russia’s foreign policy: the value-oriented and the pragmatic approaches.
- The impact of the situation in the region on Russia’s national security.
- Consequences for Russia’s image of the anti-Russia campaign in Middle East media.
- Middle East settlement as an area to promote Russian interest in the region.
- Appraisal of the level of economic cooperation between Russia and Middle Eastern countries.
- Cooperation between Russia and the region’s countries in the areas of energy resources, food security, railway transport, and in military technologies.
Yet another expert meeting is planned within the project, with the aim to finalize the analytical report.
Expert meeting “Russia’s interests in the Greater Middle East and the obstructing factors: changes in the situation following the Arab Spring”
