... directed against the sovereignty of its neighbors (likely a reference to Syria and Iraq).
There is little doubt that a “prospective operation” means preparing for... ... of North and East Syria (AANES) that is essentially the SDF’s political umbrella. Russian military police units and Syrian border guards moved into the AANES’ western... ... the U.S. has essentially fled Afghanistan, another such case will result in the U.S. Middle Eastern allies totally losing confidence in America as a security guarantor....
...
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 of Israel in Russia held a closed online seminar “Assessing the Middle East conflicts (Lebanon, Iraq and Libya). View from Russia and Israel”. The event was attended by leading experts and diplomats from Russia and Israel.
The seminar was divided into two sessions: "Political instability in Lebanon and Iraq: View from Russia and Israel" and "Libya: between ...
... topics—the state of the “nuclear deal” and the regional policies of these states in the Middle East. What is Moscow’s policy towards the US–Iranian confrontation?
US withdrawal... ... production was more than halved. This US policy regarding Iran has negatively affected US–Iraqi relations. Iraq, being dependent on the dynamics of the US-Iranian confrontation... ... transportation and naval escort to tankers, which has a negative impact on the market.
Russia: watching from the sidelines
For Russia, the US withdrawal from the “nuclear...
... regime change. Besides, economic conditions will aggravate, leading to more tensions.
The Three Core Sub-Regions of the Middle East
The Fertile Crescent (The Levant and Iraq)
Some experts believe that different paths will prevail in the sub-region of the Middle East: North Africa, the Gulf and the Fertile Crescent (the Levant and Iraq). The focus will be on resolving the Syrian crisis with the victory of the Assad regime and allies. Yet, Russian-Turkish ties will be affected by Russian-Syrian-Iranian intervention near the Turkish border. The threat that this would impose on the Turkish armed forces could spark a proxy war in Syria or at least in the North-West of the country.
Lebanon ...
... East. European countries will remain closely aligned with U.S. policy, even though it’s becoming increasingly clear that it’s not always possible to see eye to eye with the U.S. in certain matters. We can only hope in the long-term that the EU and Russia’s shared embracement of multilateralism and the UN may provide a solid groundwork on which to foster more cooperative regional engagement in the Middle East, also by convincing the US to return to a more stable and predictable foreign policy towards the region.
On October 26, 2019, the Iraqi-born leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed during a U.S. raid. What do you make of his death and what consequences could that have for ISIS and international terrorism as a whole?
Andrey Kortunov, Michel ...
RIAC Working Paper № 48/2019
RIAC Working Paper № 48/2019
This working paper was prepared by the Russian International Affairs Council as part of the RIAC’s project on «Conflicts in the Middle East: Tools and Strategies for Settlement». This paper is devoted to analyzing the situation in the oil and gas market in Iraq and Syria, as well as the energy policy of Russia in the Arab Mashreq region. The authors also analyze Iraq’s oil prospects in the post-war period under sanctions against Iran. Special attention is paid to the Kurdish factor and the role the Kurds play in the future of energy in the region, ...
... 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 in 2003, began to fade into the background. Two parallel processes have occurred in the region – the return of Russia as ...
... Studies (IRAS, Iran), the Center for Strategic Research (SAM) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, Middle East Technical University (Turkey), American University of Beirut (Lebanon), Damascus Center for Research and Studies (Syria), Al-Rafidain Center For Dialogue (Iraq), Al-Quds University (Palestine), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia, and other. The Russian side was represented by experts from RIAC, RAS Institute of Oriental Studies, National Research University Higher School ...
... for Dialogue
(Najaf, Iraq) headed by Farhad Alaeddin.
RIAC guests got to know about current and completed projects of the Council on the Middle East vector. RIAC and Al-Rafidain Center discussed the current state of Russia-Iraq relations, the role of Russia and Iraq in security in the Middle East, as well as the impact of escalation in the US-Iran relations on regional affairs. The parties outlined further plans for interaction at the institutional level and agreed to develop cooperation.
Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General, Timur ...
Working Paper #46 / 2019
This working paper looks into the complex issue of Russia–Iraq relations. It provides a detailed analysis of the foundations of the bilateral ties between the two countries, Russia’s approach to the Kurdish issue, and the future of cooperation between Russia and Iraq now that both countries have completed ...