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27 august 2019
The Syrian Crisis: A Thorny Path from War to Peace
The second decade of the 21st century began with a string of explosive protests in the Middle East and North Africa, which have destabilized not only the countries that saw violent regime change but the entire region. A way out of the profound systemic crisis is yet to be found.
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30 july 2019
Geopolitics in Space and Time
We should gradually free foreign policy of rigid subordination to geopolitics and related super-involvement. Geopolitics won’t disappear, but becoming less engulfed in it is an important task for Russia to tackle.
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20 march 2018
Worse Than During the Cold War
Neither Ukraine nor Syria has eased psychological tension so far. The United States and partly Russia do not think they have reached the dangerous point. Apparently they still need a bigger crisis to finally settle their issues.
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20 march 2018
Russia’s Foreign Policy in a Historical Perspective
The principle stated by George Orwell that all are equal but some are more equal than others seems to have been adopted at the international level. This is vividly borne out by the outcome of American interference in the Middle East countries and elsewhere. Russia will continue to espouse the principles of law and justice in international affairs.
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10 january 2018
Comment of the Year: The Middle East – Syria
It must be stated right from the outset that the outgoing year has failed to bring this long-suffering region either any perceptible change for the better or a consummation of aspirations that provided a powerful impetus to the million-strong protests in the Arab world seven years ago.
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9 january 2018
Insights and Recommendations
This compilation is meant as a sampling of Graham’s views. The quotes below are divided into categories similar to those in Russia Matters’ news and analysis digests, reflecting the most pertinent topic areas for U.S.-Russian relations broadly and for drivers of the two countries’ policies toward one another.
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26 december 2017
From Last to First?
As it aspires to join the elite world club of equal sovereigns, Russia cannot but notice an important fact that no such club actually exists. The simple reason is that the club’s membership is conditioned on mutual transparency and permeability of sovereignties and correlation of sovereign actions with the values understood as the red lines in what one says and does.
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18 december 2017
Putin's Plan for Syria
Russia realizes that with the war waning and reconstruction looming, others will begin to step forward in Syria, including China, Europe, and Japan. Moscow will seek to partner with them to secure a piece of the lucrative reconstruction effort.
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11 december 2017
Moscow’s leverage in Syria is strong, but limited
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared “a complete victory” over the Islamic State on both banks of the Euphrates River in Syria.
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25 october 2017
Muqtada al-Sadr: A Way into the Arab World?
Muqtada al-Sadr is a descendent of the religious Sadr dynasty, a prominent family of Shiite intellectuals. He is one of a small number of politicians who possess significant influence in modern Iraq and who are capable of inspiring hundreds of thousands of people to take to the streets.
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5 october 2017
By the Rivers of Babylon
The time when Russia could contemplate an exit strategy seems to have passed. It would be virtually impossible now to guarantee a negotiated settlement in Syria or at least a lasting truce without Russia’s substantial military presence in that country.
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29 september 2017
Referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan: Unity and Cohesion of the People
On September 25, 2017, a referendum on independence was held in Iraqi Kurdistan, which was condemned by the governments of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. According to the Iraqi Kurdistan Electoral Commission, more than 90 percent (2.86 million out of 3.31 million) of the referendum participants voted for independence.
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12 september 2017
Great Power Interventions and the Future of Responsibility to Protect
It may often seem that a whole epoch has passed since the Kosovo Commission’s oft-cited conclusion that the NATO intervention into Yugoslavia in 1999 was “illegal, but legitimate”.
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12 september 2017
Russia–US Relations and the Future of Syria
The greatest analytical challenge in trying to understand the Syrian civil wars overcoming the propensity to see the world as it was and not as it is. It is tempting to look at Syria on a map and imagine that one day soon it could be put back together – if only a resolution could be found during diplomatic meetings in Astana or Istanbul.
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8 september 2017
Arab Uncertainty after the ‘Spring’
After six years of rapid and successive developments that have engulfed Arab countries, they could not reach a safe path towards the future.
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28 august 2017
We Are All From Europe
“I am not afraid,” chanted the crowd that took to the streets in Barcelona after a van was driven into pedestrians on the Las Ramblas promenade, killing at least 14 people and injuring some 130 others. It was the most dignified and appropriate possible response to a terrorist attack, a firm demonstration of unity that transcended internal divisions.
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28 august 2017
Media and Pundits Play a Special Role in Stopping Terror
Once again, a European city was hit by a terrorist attack. La Rambla of Barcelona, ??a tourist, commercial and entertainment center of the city, suffered a deadly assault.
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22 august 2017
Daesh Uses the ‘Power of Its Ideology’ to Spread Terror
The terrorist attacks in Spain have shown that ISIS is able to spread through the power of its ideology.
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18 august 2017
Why the Terrorist Attack in Spain Will Not Be the Last
Over the past 24 hours two terrorist attacks happened in Spain.
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14 august 2017
Afghanistan: Stabilization Is Far Away
The military and political situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate. The daily terrorist attacks, carried out by the Taliban movement and other radical groups, are aimed not only against government and military facilities, but also against the civilians.
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8 august 2017
The Lessons of Islamic State
The defeat of Islamic State is apparent. What next, then? Islamic extremism will come full circle. Having failed to preserve Islamic State, the extremists will focus on punishing their “offenders” by returning to the methods previously employed by al-Qaeda.
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21 july 2017
AQIS & ISIS approaches in India
Since its inception back in 2014, the terrorist group known as “al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent,” or AQIS for short, has been attempting to generate a strong support base in India. However, it has so far not been able to manage a significant foothold amongst the Muslim population in the country.
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17 july 2017
Trump’s Visit to France Marks Reversal in Trump’s ‘Isolation’
French President Emmanuel Macron will not attempt to pressure US President Donald Trump into any difficult situation, as his goal is to make the best of a difficult situation.
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10 july 2017
First Putin-Trump Meeting: The Exploration of a Compartmentalised Relationship
After very anticipated first Russian and US presidents' meeting both sides used this opportunity to underline the importance of Moscow-Washington relationship and direct contacts between two presidents, in particular.
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4 july 2017
Managing Geo-Political Change: Attending to the Architecture
President Trump reportedly likes to delegate authority. He also likes to make his ‘team leaders’ vie with each other, competitively. It has worked well for him in his real-estate business, Trump often says...
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8 june 2017
Terrorist Attacks in Tehran: Iran Ceases to Be the Most Stable Country in the Middle East
Terrorist attacks in the Iranian parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini mausoleum took place as importance and prestige of the country in the international arena was growing, Valdai club expert Elena Dunaeva says.
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6 june 2017
Back to Order?
The Syrian experience may prove to be a model for a new approach to the organization of the army. In the Middle East, this institution continues to play not only a military but also a political role as a state-forming element of the political system.
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6 june 2017
Qatar and Saudi Arabia: The Final Breakup or Will America Help?
On June 5, 2017, six Arab countries - Yemen, Libya, Bahrain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia - announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Qatar.
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5 june 2017
The Need to Massage Egos: Status Politics as a Crucial Element of US-Russia Relations
Despite multiple official declarations of non-adversarial intentions issued by the United States and Russia over the past quarter-century, both sides have been unable to avoid repeated bouts of conflict escalation.
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22 may 2017
Iran voted Rouhani again – now what? The $350-billion question for Trump
For a country labelled a theocracy, Iran certainly knows how to throw a presidential election. One more cynical than I may even go so far as to posit that Iran has mastered the art of democracy, right down to the posters and caps.
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World at a Crossroads and a System of International Relations for the Future
(3207)
Sergey Lavrov -
Chinese School of International Relations
(1552)
Yevgeny Grachikov -
Symmetric versus Asymmetric Rule
(1492)
Paul Robinson -
The Logic of Counterpoint
(1370)
Igor Istomin -
A Predictable Future?
(1314)
Sergei Karaganov
A new world order: A view from Russia
Since around 2017–2018, the world has been living through a period of progressive erosion, or collapse, of international orders inherited from the past. With the election of Donald Trump and the rapid increase of US containment of Russia and China—which is both a consequence of this gradual erosion and also represents deep internal and international contradictions—this process entered its apogee.
Will US pullout from Syria increase risk of conflict with Russia?
The announcement of the US pullout from Syria was received with caution in Moscow. Besides the security and political challenges it may bring about, the Trump decision could mean the end of a practical, relatively constructive US-Russian approach to conflict at flashpoints.
Russia has 3 messages for Turkey over operation in Syria
Russia has its eye on long-term opportunities following Turkey's operation in northeast Syria.
The East’s Rise and the New Russian Foreign Policy
Russia is bracing to turn from its centuries-old foreign policy model (dating back to the Moscow Principality) to maintain direct control over its immediate periphery as a way to provide for its security. How new self-defense methods get integrated into the nation’s strategic culture can play a crucial role in the future.
Russian Interests in the Context of the Iranian-Saudi Crisis
Provocations benefit everyone. They allow strong states to express anger, reaffirm their supremacy, and to even use force but without resorting to war.
Developing the Far East and Chinese-Russian Relations: New Perceptions and New Practices
Developing the Russian Far East and Siberia has been an important step in state-building for Russia. Although there have been debates about appropriate ideas and policies in the strategy, developing the vast frontier region and promoting relations with Asian countries has set a steadfast direction of development for Russia. Chinese-Russian cooperation in the border region during the early stages of imperial Russia’s policies in the Far East holds enlightening significance for today’s bilateral cooperation.
Japan and the Development of the Russian Far East
The main objective for the Shinzo Abe administration’s active engagement in supporting the involvement of Japanese companies in the development of the Russian Far East is to create favourable environment for resolution of the territorial issue and conclusion of a peace treaty with Russia. Japan–Russia cooperation in the Russian Far East is part of Abe’s 8-point cooperation plan with Moscow.