(Interfax – August 27, 2013) The likelihood of Western military intervention in Syria is very high, Sergey Karaganov, honorary chairman of the presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy (SVOP) think-tank, has said. “Unfortunately, the concentration of troops in the region is such that a war may start. The USA may strike within the next two months, even […]
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(Interfax – Zhukovskiy, Moscow Region, August 27, 2013) In case of a military operation in Syria, Western countries will not be able to secure an easy victory since Syrian troops are armed with Russian Buk-M2E air defence systems and other air defence means, a military-diplomatic source told Interfax AVN news agency on Tuesday (27 August). “If the US army, together […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 26, 2013) The possible military interference of the United States and its allies in Syria will have catastrophic consequences for the situation at Middle East, military expert, member of the Russian Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee Igor Morozov said. “The military interference of the U.S. and its allies in Syria will lead to a geopolitical explosion […]
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(RIA Novosti – Natalia Antonova, Acting Editor-in-Chief, The Moscow News – August 19, 2013) The news of violence coming out of Egypt is horrifying, and it must be said, unfortunately, that we haven’t seen the end of the horror. So why are Russians continuing to flock to the country for vacation this month? The short answer is economics. Vacation packages […]
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(Moscow, August 19, 2013) Egypt is facing the threat of a civil war breaking out and only the Egyptian Army could prevent this from happening, experts think. The disintegration of the country is also likely, experts interviewed by RIA Novosti suggested. (Passage omitted: events of past week) Commenting on the current situation, a doctor of philosophy and a specialist on […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Sam Greene – July 23, 2013) Samuel A. Greene is Senior Lecturer in Russian Politics and Director of the King’s Russia Institute at King’s College London. Can manipulating the democratic process ever play out in the interest of progressive politics? Samuel A. Greene suggests not: we’ve been in this situation before, in post-Soviet Russia, with largely calamitous results. […]
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(RIA Novosti – Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of the Russia in Global Affairs journal, authoritative source of expertise on Russian foreign policy and global developments – July 11, 2013) The events in Egypt have come to represent a colorful culmination of yet another fall-summer season in world politics, the keynotes of which are: on the one hand, the general inability to […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Grigory Kosach, special to RBTH – July 7, 2013 – Grigory Kosach is a professor at the Russian State University for the Humanities) Russia must play an active role in helping to restore stability in the country. The question of whether Mohamed Morsi’s overthrow will become a blessing or a curse for Egypt […]
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From: IRASTRAUS@aol.com (Ira Straus) Date: Thu, 4 Jul 2013 12:42:04 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Russia’s opportunity in Egypt Now is the time for Russia to say it was right all along about Egypt. And to play a role in helping consolidate the latest corrective, which brings back a prospect for a moderate regime in that pivotal country. The U.S. has lost […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Oleg Fomichev, special to RBTH – July 4, 2013) Pundits welcome army interference in the stand-off between Morsi and the opposition. Against the background of the political showdown in Egypt and its President Mohamed Morsi’s resignation, RBTH offers a selection of expert opinions from Russian observers on the future of the largest country […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 4, 2013) The ongoing events in Egypt confirm that the so-called Arab Spring has led not to democratic renewal but to chaos, says Russian State Duma international affairs committee head Alexei Pushkov. “The events in Egypt show that there can’t be a quick and gentle transition from an authoritarian regime to political democracy. There can’t be […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – July 5, 2013) As turmoil once again grips Egypt, with the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi following days of mass protests in Cairo, one high-ranking Russian official has responded smugly: We told you this would happen. “The Arab Spring has only led to chaos in Egypt and a bloody foreign-backed drama […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 27, 2013) Russia currently has no military personnel at its resupply facility in the Syrian port of Tartus, a senior diplomat said, though an expert affiliated with the Ministry of Defense downplayed it as a possible temporary measure. “Currently, there is no one in Syria from the Russian Defense Ministry,” Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail […]
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(Kremlin.ru – June 21, 2013) Text of report “Answers to questions from St Petersburg International Economic Forum participants, 21 June 2013, St Petersburg” published in English by Russian presidential website on 24 June; subheadings added editorially: Russia’s priorities in G20 MODERATOR (retranslated): Mr President, the St Petersburg International Economic Forum is being held in your hometown. I would like to […]
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Subject: No. 128: Russia in the Syrian Conflict Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 15:40:19 +0200 From: “Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)” <newslist@isn.ch> RUSSIAN ANALYTICAL DIGEST Newsletter 10 June 2013/No. 128 Russia in the Syrian Conflict To download this issue please click here http://www.css.ethz.ch/publications/DetailansichtPubDB_EN?rec_id=2561 Analyses The Impact of the Syrian Conflict on Russian Relations with Other Middle Eastern Countries, by Mark N. […]
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(Moscow News – Anna Arutunyan, Correspondent and Editor at themoscownews.com – June 24, 2013) In the geopolitical drama over the ongoing Syrian civil war, Russia’s position, on the surface, appears to be clear as glass. Of course Russia’s backing Syrian authoritarian leader Bashar al Assad, the narrative goes – it fears a similar uprising back home. Actually, the Kremlin’s stance […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – June 19, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin bristled over claims that he alone was opposing seven world leaders over how to deal with the Syria conflict during the G8 Summit this week in Northern Ireland. Asked by a reporter if he felt “lonely,” Putin said: “Of course not. That’s absolutely not true. […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yuri Paniyev, special to RBTH – June 18, 2013) With the G8 summit in full swing in Northern Ireland, the world’s leaders try to tackle financial and international challenges including tax evasion, the Middle East stand-off, the Syrian crisis and the North Korea nuclear problem. G8 leaders began their two-day summit at the […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 14, 2013) Russia is not planning to deliver S-300 air defense systems to Syria, despite the announcement by the US administration on Thursday of its intention to supply the Syrian opposition with weaponry, a presidential aide said on Friday. “The issue has not been raised yet,” aide Yury Ushakov told reporters in Moscow in […]
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(RIA Novosti – New York, June 7, 2013) The United Nations would welcome Russian peacekeepers in the Golan Heights, UN spokesman Farhan Haq told RIA Novosti on Friday. “The UN welcomes any contribution by the world community to peacemaking efforts in the Golan Heights, and the UNDOF [UN Disengagement Observer Force] is very important for the maintenance of peace […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 6, 2013) Valery Shnyakin, military expert and deputy head of the Federation Council committee on international affairs, believes the situation with protests in Turkey will gradually stabilize and will not follow the “Arab spring” scenario. “Turkey is a special country in the Arab world. It’s a secular and democratic state and I think Prime Minister Erdogan […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 29, 2013) Moscow believes that some Persian Gulf countries supported by the United States and other Western countries are hampering the convention of a new international conference on Syria, Kommersant reported in its Wednesday issue. “The position and provocations (by Persian Gulf countries) are possibly the main factor complicating the convention of the conference,” Kommersant cited […]
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(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 10, Issue 101 – Valery Dzutsev – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – May 29, 2013) On April 26, the authoritative Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta hosted a roundtable of experts on the situation in Syria. Although almost all the experts, as usual, accused the United States and the West of fueling civil unrest in Syria now and […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 23, 2013) Attempts to introduce “Western standards” of state structure in the Middle East and North Africa add to regional tensions, head of the Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Administration Lt. Gen. Igor Sergun said. “In our opinion, attempts to introduce “Western standards” of state structure in the Middle East and North Africa, which are objectively […]
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(Kennan Institute Meeting Report – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Mackensie Knorr – April 12, 2013) “We strive to get all the information to put together the full picture. All questions must be answered, and there shouldn’t be any holes in the story,” said Svetlana Reiter, freelance journalist for Bolshoi Gorod, among other magazines. At a 12 April conference at the Kennan Institute, […]
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(Interfax – ST. PETERSBURG, May 17, 2013) The state catastrophe in Libya shows that lawful methods of resolving the issue have been substituted for use of force and this creates chaos in most parts of Africa, Russian Constitutional Court Chairman Valery Zorkin said. “Researchers and experts acknowledge a very dangerous destruction of the international legal system, more and more frequent […]
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(Interfax – April 11, 2013) Middle East conflicts are advantageous to those who would like the region to have smaller and less influential countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with the RTVI channel. “This may be advantageous to many. For instance, those who want the region to have less influential countries. Those who want these countries […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Oleg Fomichev, RBTH – April 5, 2013) Russian experts disagree on whether or not a political solution in Syria is still possible. This April marks the second anniversary of the Syrian uprising. Unlike the other Arab revolutions, it can be characterized by its deep involvement of Russian interests. While Moscow remains critical of […]
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MOSCOW. April 2 (Interfax) – The West has opted for a course to overthrow Bashar al-Assad by supporting rebels, not by launching a military operation, said Alexei Pushkov, the chairman of the State Duma’s International Affairs Committee. “Apparently, the stage of political maneuvers is drawing to its close. The West is passing over to a modified Libyan scenario in Syria […]
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(Interfax – March 29, 2013) Interview Deputy NATO Secretary General Alexander Vershbow, who is visiting Moscow for an informal conference of former U.S. ambassadors to Russia and Russian ambassador to the United States, has given an interview to Interfax in which he speaks about NATO-Russia cooperation, as well as pressing issues on the international agenda, such as the missile defense […]
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MOSCOW. March 21 (Interfax) – A replay of the Libyan scenario by NATO forces in Syria would be a major strategic mistake, says Russian permanent representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov. “If this is an element of some political pressure, it is one situation, which I think is unlikely to help the cause. If this is serious, this is even […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, March 20, 2013) The chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Aleksey Pushkov, has said that the USA, which suffered a serious political defeat as a result of the war in Iraq initiated by it 10 years ago, was still carrying on a similar policy towards other Middle East countries, in particular Syria. “The Americans’ […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, March 15, 2013) According to Russian political analysts, after two years since its beginning, the Syrian conflict has expanded to a regional level, which means that the situation in the Arab world will stabilize only after several generations. “There is certainly a risk that the conflict will spread. It is quite obvious that the conflict is spreading […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines/Interfax – rbth.ru – March 15, 2013) Russian political scientists speculate that increasing instability in the Arab world could further exacerbate the Syrian conflict and heighten tensions in the Middle East. The Syrian conflict has taken on a regional scale since it broke out two years ago, Russian political scientists said, adding that the chance of restoring […]
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MOSCOW, March 12 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow criticized on Tuesday what it described as the United States’ biased interpretation of the Geneva Communiqué as supporting the Syrian opposition. “Public statements by representatives of the US administration in support of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces in fact point to a one-sided interpretation of the Geneva Communique,” Russian […]
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(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 10, Issue 45 – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Pavel K. Baev – March 11, 2013) Entering the second year of his third presidency, President Vladimir Putin has shown uncharacteristically scant interest to foreign policy matters perhaps suspecting that Western “partners” are sponsoring Russia’s opposition movement and that neighboring post-Soviet leaders and even Chinese “friends” are […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Ekaterina Zabrovskaya, Nikolay Surkov, RBTH – February 27, 2013) Moscow sees U.S. objection to a U.N. statement condemning the recent terrorist attack in Syria as a double standard. The discussion of a U.N. Security Council statement condemning the latest terrorist attack in Damascus, that killed 53, has engendered yet another upsurge in Moscow’s […]
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(Oilprice.com – Felix Imonti – February 25, 2013) Russia is back. President Vladimir Putin wants the world to acknowledge that Russia remains a global power. He is making his stand in Syria. The Soviet Union acquired the Tardus Naval Port in Syria in 1971 without any real purpose for it. With their ships welcomed in Algeria, Cuba or Vietnam, Tardus […]
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MOSCOW, February 25 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow’s position on Syria stems from its concern for the Syrian people, and not the fate of President Bashar al-Assad, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday. “Russia’s position is not predetermined by support of personalities; it is dictated by concern about the fate of the Syrian people, our long-standing friend and partner, and […]
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(RIA Novosti – February 13, 2013) Russia will not agree to the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Asad, chairman of the State Duma Committee for International Affairs Aleksey Pushkov said at a news conference in Moscow on 13 February. He also pointed out that Russia’s position on Syria remained the same, while the West’s position was shifting in recognition of […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – February 14, 2013) Russia sold twice as many weapons abroad in 2012 as in the previous year. It now has a portfolio of $37 billion in foreign orders and continues to sell anti-aircraft systems to Syria, a senior arms trade executive told reporters Wednesday. Although India is still the country’s No. 1 […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Alaa Omar, special to RBTH – February 8, 2013) In response to Russia’s support of Bashar Assad in Syria, Russia has been condemned in Arab media and press as hostile to Islam, exporting only “immoral values” to the region. Independent journalist and political analyst Alaa Omar takes a look at the other side […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Ekaterina Zabrovskaya, Combined report – February 6, 2013) Following a reported Israeli air strike on Syria in late January, the Russian Foreign Ministry has called for another gathering of parties in the Syria Action Group. Russia hopes to continuing working within the framework of the Geneva Communiqué, which was adopted at the last […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, 1 February) The events in Syria, Algeria and Mali are interrelated and demonstrate the multi-faceted nature of the modern terrorist threat, Aleksandr Zmeyevskiy, the Russian president’s special representative on international cooperation in the fight against terrorism and transnational organized crime, has said. “Al-Qa’idah and its partners in this unsavoury business seriously intend to take power in states. […]
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MOSCOW, January 31 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Foreign Ministry slammed outgoing US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday for a recent statement which referred to Russia’s “unwillingness” to assist in settlement of the Syria conflict, saying it was symptomatic of America’s obstructive attitude to resolving the crisis. “Unfortunately, we have repeatedly said that in their public statements, American […]
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Moscow, January, 15, Interfax – Russia’s ex prime-minister, Mercury Club president and Academy of Science Presidium member Evgeny Primakov said it is wrong to look at the Islamic forces in the Middle East as a single camp. “About two years have passed since the Arab Spring wave of revolutionary protests toppled the authoritarian rulers in the Middle East and North […]
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(RIA Novosti – Fyodor Lukyanov – January 10, 2013) Fyodor Lukyanov is Editor-in-Chief of the Russia in Global Affairs journal, an authoritative source of expertise on Russian foreign policy and global developments, online at http://eng.globalaffairs.ru/ The year 2013 began much like 2012 with news of fighting in Syria and predictions that the tide is about to turn in the […]
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(Al-Monitor – www.al-monitor.com – Fyodor Lukyanov – January 8, 2013 – http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/01/syria-assad-speech-russia.html) Fyodor Lukyanov is Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs, an authoritative Russian journal devoted to foreign policy and international relations, online at http://eng.globalaffairs.ru/. Addressing the nation for the first time in over six months, Syrian President Bashar Assad thanked Russia for its efforts to help find a political […]
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[How to Work with Russia on Syria – The National Interest – Paul J. Saunders – January 7, 2013 – http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/how-work-russia-syria-7935] Paul J. Saunders writes in The National Interest on U.S. policy towards Syria, and whether there is a window of opportunity for a negotiated resolution of the conflict, with a particular eye on the potential for Russia to cooperate […]
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[Russia’s Syria Support Said to be a Losing Proposition – Vedomosti – Vladislav Inozemtsev, doctor of economic sciences, director of the Center for Study of the Post-Industrial Society – December 24, 2012 – no accessible link] Vladislav Inozemtsev writes in Vedomosti on Russia’s Syria policy, also focusing strongly on economic factors such as oil, gas and Syrian debt. At the […]
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