For
Allies & Foes Alike, All Roads Lead to Moscow as
Mideast’s Main Player
By Finian
Cunningham
March
13, 2017 "Information
Clearing House"
- "RT"
-
In the same week that the United States sent
thousands of additional troops to Kuwait for
deployment in Iraq and Syria, Russia was busy
pursuing a heavy-duty diplomatic deployment.
The contrast speaks of a paradigm-shift in
geopolitics. Russia has become the main player
in the future of the vital Middle East region,
where the US and its European allies formerly
claimed to be the lynchpin powers.
On
Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin
hosted Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu in
Moscow.
The next day, it was Turkish leader Recep
Tayyip Erdogan’s turn to be greeted in the
Kremlin. The meeting in Moscow confirms the
restored relations since the fatal Turkish
shoot-down of a Russian fighter jet over Syria
in November 2015.
Russia can rightly claim to have gained the
respect of virtually all the countries in the Middle
East, ranging from allies and foes alike. Syria and
Iran, longtime allies, have expressed gratitude for
Moscow’s military intervention in Syria to salvage
that country from a nearly six-year war, while, at
the same time, states normally thought of as US
clients, such as Israel, Turkey,
Saudi Arabia, have also paid their respects to
Russia over its principled use of military force to
stabilize the restive region.
The latter countries are particularly
significant, given that they have backed proxy
forces in Syria that have been fighting against
Russia’s ally, the Syrian government of President
Assad. Israel and Saudi Arabia are also implacably
opposed to Iran, another key Russian ally.
But here is a measure of Russia’s kudos in the
region. When Israel’s Netanyahu came to Moscow this
week – his third visit in 16 months – he was
reportedly put in his place by Putin over a
remark he had made comparing Iran to ancient Persia,
claiming it was trying to “destroy Jews.”
Putin wagged his finger and told the Israeli leader
to “stop dwelling in the past” and instead
deal with a “changed world”. The bumptious
Netanyahu was suitably quietened by the
admonishment.
It’s hard to imagine any other international
leader commanding that kind of deference.
Other countries in the Middle East that have
recently sought renewed contact with Russia include
Egypt, Libya, Qatar, and Bahrain.
The remarkable thing is how Russia has been able
to garner the respect of such a diverse range of
states with such divergent political and religious
outlooks, some vehemently opposed to each other.
Yet, in Russia, they all find a reliable
gravitational center.
American political commentator Randy Martin says
that the leadership displayed by Russia stems from a
fundamental difference in how the US operates. He
says that Moscow genuinely wants to build peace and
development in the region, whereas Washington has
always been motivated by selfish reasons of
hegemonic dominance.
Says Martin: “Russia under Putin is trying to
build relationships, regional development,
multilateralism and peace-making. Russia understands
that the only viable future for itself and others is
to create a stable, multi-polar international order.
And Russia is showing true leadership by
demonstrating a principled tolerance of others.”
The commentator added: “It is instructive to
contrast Russian military intervention and
subsequent diplomacy with that of the US. Everywhere
the US has been involved in has imploded in
relentless violence and failure. That’s because
Washington is only interested in exploiting the
oil-rich region ultimately for its own strategic
ends. By contrast, Russia has a real stake in the
region’s future as a neighbor and partner.”
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After witnessing a series of destructive US-led
wars across the region, from Afghanistan and Iraq to
Libya, it seems the Russian government has made a
strategic resolution that the apocalyptic dynamic
had to stop, not just for its own sake, but for the
world at large. Syria was the line in the sand.
Through the
principled use of military power, Russia’s
intervention in Syria has put out the flames of a
conflict that was threatening to engulf the entire
region. While Washington and its clients who backed
regime-change have cause to be displeased with
Russia’s intervention, nevertheless, there can at
least be a tacit acknowledgement that it was
Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, who brought the
madness to an end.
That
newfound respect for Russian power has materialized
in the sponsorship of peace talks on Syria by Russia
and Turkey. Both countries brokered a ceasefire in
December, which has largely held, to facilitate two
rounds of negotiations between the Assad government
and the Syrian opposition. Those talks in Astana,
Kazakhstan, have now paved the way for rebooted
peace negotiations in Geneva next week under the
auspices of the United Nations.
In
his meeting with Erdogan in Moscow this week, Putin
noted that the
talks in Astana were the “first time ever that
the conflicting parties in Syria came to the
negotiating table.” He added that “this
tangible result” was grounds for “cautious
optimism for a full-fledged political settlement.”
Of greater
significance, Putin referred to Russia’s bigger
strategic picture. He said that the political talks
marked the “start of the process of rebuilding
Syria and others countries in the region.”
The bedrock
principle laid down by the Russian leader is respect
for sovereignty. That applies to Russia’s allies as
well as their foes. Moscow is saying that if the
conflict-torn region is to have any future then, at
a minimum, each and every player must have a modicum
of respect for sovereignty. The dark days of
zero-sum, regime-change intrigues against others
must end.
Through its
commendable stand in the Mideast, Russia has shown
that it is a power that can be trusted, whereas the
US and its European allies have been fatally
compromised through their own unscrupulous,
treacherous scheming. Not even supposed allies have
confidence that Western powers can be trusted in the
long-run.
The case of
Turkey and Israel – both ardent allies of Washington
– coming to Moscow this week to pay homage to Putin
shows that they realize that Russia, despite their
political differences, has become the indispensable
player in the region. Washington, London, and Paris
are like yesterday’s men.
Randy
Martin, the political commentator, says that the
consummate difference between Russia and the US is
due to the former’s profound understanding of war
and peace.
“Russia
knows the cost of war, and so appreciates the price
of peace,” says Martin. “Given the vast
destruction and pain that Russia endured through war
over the past century, perhaps no other country on
the planet has a better understanding of the
importance of making peace. By contrast, the US has
never experienced the suffering of war the way
Russia has. The US only knows how to incite war and
inflict suffering.”
This
fundamental distinction appears to be why Russia has
emerged as a reliable leader in the war-torn Middle
East and beyond. It is a power that others can
respect.
It’s those
that don’t respect Russia – Washington and its
surrogates in Europe – who accuse Putin of being an
aggressor, who are showing their true colors. Their
accusations are projections of their own
aggressor-status. Russia is putting an end to their
warmongering through genuine world leadership – and
that is why they jealously slander Putin as an
aggressor.
The
views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of Information Clearing
House.
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