Keynote speech of H.E. Ambassador A.Viktorov at The Institute for National Security Studies on topic "Russia in the Middle East: Ever-Changing Policy in an Ever-Changing Region

It is a matter of fact that Russia is one of the key power brokers and military actors in the current Middle East. It deserves to be mentioned that Russian ties to the Middle East go back centuries and provide a valuable foundation. Starting fr om contacts with Ottoman Empire and the policy of protecting Orthodox Christians living in the region Russia has been a factor in Middle Eastern politics and geopolitics. After the fall of colonial powers and the World War II, we established solid relations with new Arab states and Israel as well.

It is clear that today Middle East is one of the most important regions of the world, wh ere the interests of many powers intersect: the United States, the European Union, and even China. Russia is advancing our own interests and promoting a balanced agenda in order to achieve peace and stability in the region.

Russia and Israel built a very close and mutually beneficial relationship. Russian President Vladimir Putin is close with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The value of trade and economic relationships between the two countries may still be a question of more efforts from both sides. But the human ties are extraordinarily warm, thanks in part to a visa-free travel regime and about two millions of Russian speaking Israelis. We also share the same views on the issue of the struggle against falsifying the history of World War II and glorification of Nazism, fighting anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial around the world.

Another important issue is Russia’s consideration of Israel’s legitimate security concerns. Almost at every meeting between the leaders of the two countries we stress our special attention to ensure Israel’s security.

And this I might call a focal point of our discussion today. In 2015 Russia sent its air force and a limited number of ground troops to Syria at the official request of the legitimate Syrian Government. Today we continue to assist in the Syrian settlement based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and decisions taken by the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi.

We have welcomed the beginning of Constitutional Committee’s contacts in Geneva. But additional efforts in the Astana format should be done in order to put an end to the terrorist presence in the Idlib province and stabilize the situation on the eastern bank of the Euphrates.

Another significant issue is a need of international assistance to restore the destroyed Syrian infrastructure; this is important for refugees and internally displaced persons to return to their homes.

Today we also maintain a dialogue with the Kurds, including representatives of the Syrian Democratic Forces, primarily in the context of implementing the Russian-Turkish Memorandum of October 22 concluded by President Putin and President Erdogan in Sochi, which involves withdrawing the Syrian Democratic Forces and military equipment to 30 kilometers from the Turkish-Syrian border. These agreements were approved by President Assad and the leaders of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

The withdrawal of the troops is almost completed. We call on our Kurdish counterparts from the Syrian Democratic Forces to act consistently. In the interest of ensuring the rights of the Kurds, there is no alternative to embarking on a course of a dialogue with the legitimate Syrian authorities as part of developing the approaches that ensure Syria’s stability and security through the efforts of the Syrian Constitutional Committee.

We are concerned that certain representatives of the Syrian Democratic Forces are hoping that the United States will provide them with quasi-state autonomy in Syria. We see certain signs that some of them are willing to support such an idea, and this is a case for concern.

Russia is doing its utmost to ensure that the Syrians will decide on the future of the country themselves in full accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254. The agreements that will be reached, in particular and primarily during the Constitutional Committee meetings in Geneva, by and between the Syrians themselves, must be accepted and respected by all the international community. We hope the UN along with the Astana Three (Russia, Turkey and Iran) will help to facilitate this process.

As we are short in time let me briefly speak about other countries of the Middle East, that Russia is actively cooperating with.

Unfortunate actions of regime changes in Iraq and Libya have led to, in fact, the destruction of these countries’ statehood. Iraq has more or less succeeded in bringing its state back to normal. We are actively helping our Iraqi colleagues, including by increasing the combat effectiveness of their security forces and the army in fighting the remaining terrorist groups.

In Libya, the situation is much worse, although the international community is making efforts to establish some kind of an inclusive dialogue. But there are too many external players there, and it has so far been impossible to start a sustainable process.

The situation in Yemen is still very hard. According to the UN, the country is facing a major humanitarian catastrophe, that can only be resolved through all-inclusive talks. Russia have been encouraged by the proposal put forward recently by the Houthi movement for a ceasefire and the beginning of talks. Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman responded positively to it. We believe UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths will rely on these latest moves to find a way to a future solution.

Russia is very concerned about the revisionism in US policy on the settlement in the Middle East, the settlement between Palestine and Israel. The two-state solution is actually being brushed aside and the efforts of the Quartet of international mediators have actually been blocked. We are being told that the “deal of the century” is about to be announced, but we wait in vain. We can guess that now the issue of renouncing the two-state solution will be raised. At this point Russia, the entire Arab world, and all other UN members will firmly adhere to the resolutions that were adopted by the UN Security Council and that must be implemented.

A few words about Iran. Regrettably, the United States is trying to demonize, and isolate the Islamic Republic of Iran. We see such actions as a short-sighted policy. The withdrawal of the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the Iran nuclear deal, was a typical example of a total disregard for international law and UN Security Council decisions. Not only did the United States refuse to deliver on these decisions, it forbids other countries from observing the Iran nuclear deal and the relevant UN Security Council resolution, threatening to impose sanctions on them.    

Another disturbing initiative by our American colleagues in the region is so-called Arab NATO an international coalition to protect navigation in the Persian Gulf. These actions draw delimitation lines against the Islamic Republic of Iran. No doubt, it is important to ensure security in the Persian Gulf but Iran also has proposals, and they coincide with the Russian initiative, that all countries join forces and patrol the world’s major waterway, ensuring safe navigation there. We suggest starting talks about drafting a Collective Security Concept for the Persian Gulf Region which core idea is that only creating a truly inclusive regional security system can serve as the foundation for ensuring a decent future for all the peoples of this strategically important part of the world. The main principles of the concept are multilateralism and strict observance of international law, primarily the UN Charter and the Security Council resolutions. In mid-September this idea was discussed by experts in Moscow at the Institute of Oriental Studies, the Russian Academy of Sciences.

As a concluding remark I would like to say, that relying on the situation in the Middle East we can say that it was unwise for some countries to count on the ability to control terrorists and to use them for geopolitical purposes, assuming that things could be arranged in a way would not get out of control. This is an illusion. Today the need of join efforts to find a common solution is stronger than ever. I may assure, that Russia as an important regional player will continue to contribute to the peace efforts in the Middle Eastern region to develop an inclusive dialogue with all the conflicting parties in order to restore peace and security in the region.