On April 17, 2019 in Moscow, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) together with Institut Montaigne (France) and with the assistance of the Embassy of the French Republic in the Russian Federation held an international seminar "Conflict Resolution in Syria and Ukraine: Russian and French Approaches". The event was held in the framework of cooperation between the two organizations in a series of seminars.
On April 17, 2019 in Moscow, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) together with Institut Montaigne (France) and with the assistance of the Embassy of the French Republic in the Russian Federation held an international seminar "Conflict Resolution in Syria and Ukraine: Russian and French Approaches". The event was held in the framework of cooperation between the two organizations in a series of seminars.
The meeting included two sessions, one devoted to the settlement of the Syrian crisis, and the other — to Ukrainian issues. The parties discussed the possibility of converging the positions of Russia and France on the resolution of the Syrian and Ukrainian issues. Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General, and Michel Duclos, advising Institut Montaigne, made speeches at the opening of the event.
During the first session of the seminar, experts discussed Russian and French visions of restoring civilian life in Syria and returning refugees, the possibilities of advancing the political process, assessed the socio-economic situation in the country, as well as the role of regional and world powers in the Syrian post-war settlement. During the first session the keynote speakers from the Russian side included Alexander Aksenyonok, RIAC Vice-President, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, and Irina Zvyagelskaya, RIAC expert, Senior Researcher at RAS Institute of Oriental Studies. French speakers Bassma Kodmani, Executive Director of the Arab Reform Initiative, and Stephane Lacroix, Associate Professor at Sciences Po, Paris School of International Affairs, also presented their reports. The first session was moderated by Michel Duclos, Institut Montaigne Advisor, former Ambassador of the French Republic to the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR).
In the course of the second session “Ukraine after Elections: Foreign Policy Aspects” Sergey Markedonov, Leading Researcher of the Euro-Atlantic Security Center at the MGIMO Institute, and Yulia Nikitina, Associate Professor at the School of World Political Processes, Research Associate at the Center for Post-Soviet Studies, MGIMO University, made speeches. The French side was represented by Jacques Faure, former French Ambassador to Ukraine, and Celine Marange, Research Fellow at the French Ministry of Defense research institute (IRSEM, France). Among other issues, Russian and French experts discussed the economic situation in Ukraine, the humanitarian aspects of the settlement, the implementation of the Minsk agreements and the role of international players. The discussion was moderated by Timur Makhmutov, RIAC Deputy Director of Programs.
The event was attended by representatives of leading Russian research centers: IMEMO, MGIMO of the MFA of Russia, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Higher School of Economics, RAS Institute of Oriental Studies, RSUH, RIAC experts and staff, and others.
