On April 6, RIAC and International Crisis Group (ICG) held a joint workshop addressing issues of security and development in the Middle East and North Africa. The event was opened by Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General, and Jost Hiltermann, Program Director for the Middle East and North Africa, ICG.
On April 6, RIAC and International Crisis Group (ICG) held a joint workshop addressing issues of security and development in the Middle East and North Africa. The event was opened by Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General, and Jost Hiltermann, Program Director for the Middle East and North Africa, ICG.
The first session covered Middle Eastern actors’ stances in the regional conflicts, the attitude of Russia, the U.S.A. and the EU towards Syrian, Libyan and Yemeni crises. Experts assessed the ongoing processes and prospects for their development. The Russian side was represented by Andrey Baklanov, Adviser to the Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, and Vasily Kuznetsov, RIAC expert, Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic studies in Institute of Oriental studies. Heiko Wimmen, ICG Program Director for Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, and Issandr El Amrani, Program Director for ICG North Africa, also presented their reports. Jost Hiltermann, Program Director for the Middle East and North Africa ICG, moderated the event.
During the second session parties discussed opportunities for creation of a new security architecture for West Asia and North Africa. Timur Makhmutov, RIAC Deputy Director of Programs, presented a new RIAC working paper of RIAC "Proposals for the Regional Security System Formation in West Asia and North Africa". Irina Zvyagelskaya, RIAC expert, Chief Researcher, RAS Institute of Oriental studies, and Robert Blecher, Deputy Program Director for Middle East and North Africa ICG, provided their opinions on the paper..
The event was attended by leading Russian experts from academic institutions including the RAS Institute of Oriental Studies and IMEMO, MGIMO, HSE, MSU Institute of Asian and African Countries, the Institute of CIS countries, RISS and representatives of state and public institutions.
Seminar on Possible Security Architecture in the Middle East
