Upholding Stability in the Middle East: An Opportunity for Russia–Europe Cooperation?

... (such as Syria), the name of the game should be escalation avoidance and pressure on conflicting sides, internal and external, to come to a political compromise. In situations where conflicting sides are not yet ready for a political compromise (such as Libya, possibly), the priority for external players might be to work together to contain the conflict, preventing its spillover impact on neighbouring countries. Fourth, external players should keep in mind the inextricable link between security and development....