"Russia can be a Mediator for the Middle East" Claims Expert

MOSCOW, February 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Russia expert and director of a Moscow-based think-tank, Oleg Bondarenko, has said that "Russia can serve as a guarantor against the war in the Middle East", noting that it was only the other day that the Syrian authorities agreed to talks with the rebels in Moscow.

"While the cold Russia is preparing for the presidential elections, it can become a place for negotiations between the representatives of the hot Middle East, the Bashar Assad regime and the Syrian opposition. So far the opposition has refused to participate, as there has been no official invitation to the talks. However since Washington has welcomed the willingness of Damascus to negotiate, the confronting Syrian parties are likely to start a dialogue any day.

"Russia has played a peculiar role as a country that has helped to settle relations among the Arabs. At the end of the Soviet regime, Moscow lost some of its considerable authority with the Arab world'. Today, having regained its strength, Moscow once again offers to host international talks. It is substantiated by a visible economic growth of 4 per cent post economic crisis) and the lowest state debt among the G20, as Vladimir Putin stated in his latest article on the new economy in the Russian version of "Vedomosti" (30.01.2012). All this is a natural outcome of the economic policy of the government that Putin has been heading for almost four years. Against this economic background, Russia's claim to mediate in the Middle East seems all the more justified, while the situation in Europe remains critical.

"Under the circumstances, Moscow could not only host the talks between the Syrian government and the opposition, but also serve as the meeting point for Israel and Iran. The increasing tension around Tehran is worrying Moscow and Putin is aware that Russia is one of the few countries where such talks are possible. Iran is facing the impending sanctions from the EU that could come into force in July and may isolate and eventually radicalize the country. This would certainly affect Iran's immediate neighbors, and thus Moscow may intensify its mediation efforts in the Middle East in the very near future.

"Russia, with its interdenominational and interethnic complexity, could serve as an example for peaceful coexistence for other countries. That this relative calm was achieved just recently - in the early 2000s - due to the steadfast stand of President Putin in the Caucasus settlement, can offer additional insights for the international sphere. It must be stressed that President Putin's role in the peaceful solution of the Caucasus issues cannot be underestimated.

"At the very least, Putin is a more reasonable option than his opponents staging the street protests. The "anti-corruption fighter" Alexey Navalny, who plays the nationalist card, could be much more dangerous for the West than he appears at the moment. One must remember that nationalism in Russia is fraught with separatism, and should a nuclear power begin to disintegrate, the world could be confronted with a serious problem. Let us not forget that a single atomic bomb in the hands of terrorists can destroy a state such as Israel, and endanger the European values of freedom and democracy."

Oleg Bondarenk is deputy general director of the Institute of International Integration, journalist and political scientist

SOURCE Russia Insights