How can Moscow respond to a possible US strike on Syria?
The aggravation of rivalry between Russia and the West in the past few months is raising the urgent question of a possible further escalation of tensions and its forms and consequences. Political relations between Moscow and Western capitals have gone beyond the critical point. The threadbare thesis about the lack of trust can be confidently discarded. Things are much worse. The sides do not want to and cannot listen to each other. Official...
RIAC and RUSI Report No. 38/2018
This report represents findings from the second round of the UK–Russia Track II bilateral security dialogue, held by Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (
RUSI
) in collaboration with the Moscow-based Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC).
The dialogue, held between April and December 2017, brought together experts and former government officials from the two countries to discuss and debate ways in which the UK and Russia’s bilateral...
During the expert discussion the following issues were touched upon: the perception of Russia and its actions in the Middle East by the Arab countries; relations between the members of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf; the ambitions of Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Turkey for leadership positions in the region; the need for the development of regional ...
On March 23, 2018, RIAC hosted a seminar on prospects for Russia-France cooperation in the Middle East. Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General, and former French ambassador to Syria (2006–2009), Michel Duclos, advising Institut Montaigne, made opening speeches.
On March 23, 2018, RIAC hosted a seminar on prospects for Russia-France cooperation ...
Ankara will be against any anti-Iran efforts progressing into large-scale military conflict
Iran has long been a headache for U.S. strategic planning in the Middle East. A new round of debates on Iran’s malign influence in the region was sparked by several correlated events: the relative decline of global role of the U.S., its decision to reconsider existing commitments to regional allies, and the recent ...
... security challenges in the region. The event was organized by Strategic Vision Institute (Islamabad, Pakistan).
The conference had a welcoming session and two more sessions on dynamics of Pakistani-Saudi-Iranian relations, the emerging landscape, and Middle East regional security system.
Khurram Dastgir, current Minister for Defense of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and Zafar Iqbal Cheema, Executive Director Strategic Vision Institute, made telcoming remarks at the opening session.
Shamshad Ahmad,...
... Zone
Russia intervened in Syria in 2015 at the request of Syrian President al-Assad. Russia has no particular affinity for al-Assad; rather it sees him as the only alternative to an Islamic fundamentalist state. Russia’s main objective is that the Middle East remains stable while Syria was heading towards anything but stability. There are two reasons why Russia entered the Syrian fray.
First, while the Caucasus region is not entirely in Russia proper, it is on its border and presents a “zone ...
... Programs, and Davood Kiani, IRAS President, moderated the meeting.
On February 6 Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) held a video conference with the Institute for Iran-Eurasia Studies (IRAS) on Russia’s and Iran’s positions in the Middle East in post-ISIS period.
The video conference consisted of two sessions: the presentations made by the speakers and the following discussions between the sided (Q&A). Timur Makhmutov, RIAC Deputy Director of Programs, and Davood Kiani, IRAS President,...
... Towards 2018
Russia and the West
Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia are not the only playgrounds for terrorists; so too are Barcelona, Nice, Paris, Berlin, Boston, St. Petersburg and many other ostensibly safe cities.
The majority of the political regimes in the Middle East are perfectly stable, and the reforms implemented in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Jordan following the events of 2011, have had a positive effect on the development of these countries, especially against the backdrop of the misfortune that ...
... stabilise a crucial region for world trade, resources, and security
After years of furious and brutal fighting, Syria and Iraq seem now to be slowly stabilising. A peace process in Syria is gaining momentum, and ISIS’ defeat is getting closer. However, Middle Eastern problems remain massive. Among them we have selected three main issues, which are also interconnected: the hostility between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Sunni and Shia; the stabilisation of oil prices, which are now rising but remain — as ...
