Attempts to westernize Middle East, African states add to tensions – Gen. Sergun

(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 inconsistent with the level of their development, significantly add to (regional) tensions,” he said at an international conference on European security in Moscow.

The removal of ruling parties from the political arena in African and Arab states enhanced the influence of radical forces, which received a chance to legalize their operations, he said.

“Organizations uniting supporters of “an armed jihad against the infidels” have formed Sharia quasi-states in Somalia and Mali and are seeking to do the same in Yemen and Libya,” Sergun said.