"Guided by a sincere desire to help the Syrian people."

Russia's position on Syria remains unchanged despite the political situation and is based on relations of friendship and partnership. This was stated in an interview with Izvestia by Mikhail Bogdanov, deputy foreign minister and special presidential envoy for the Middle East and Africa. The diplomat also reported on the continuation of contacts with Damascus. He noted that the states of the region, despite the pressure from the West, support Russia's active peacekeeping role in the Middle East. The deputy minister said that the fifth meeting of the joint Russian-Qatari commission on trade, economic and technical cooperation will be held in Doha in March 2025. In addition, Moscow is ready to help strengthen African states' own anti-crisis potential.

"Syria has always been an important partner of Russia in the Arab world and in the international arena"

- How has the change of power in Syria affected the balance of power in the region? Have Russia's priorities in the Middle East changed in this regard?

- Syria has always been an important partner of Russia in the Arab world and in the international arena. Relations between our countries have historically been friendly, based on the principles of mutual respect and consideration of each other's interests. I believe that they will continue to develop on an equal and mutually beneficial basis.

Today, Syria is going through difficult times. We hope that its people will successfully overcome the many difficulties that have resulted from the protracted crisis in the country. For our part, we are ready to continue to provide the Syrians with the necessary assistance.

The events that led to the change of leadership in Syria in December 2024 do not change our principled approaches. We have always supported and continue to support the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic. We believe that the future of the country should be determined by the Syrians themselves through a broad national dialog, taking into account the legitimate interests of all political forces and ethno-confessional groups.

Russia is making a significant contribution to the search for ways to comprehensively normalize the situation in hotspots in the Middle East and North Africa, including the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Syria, Yemen, Sudan and Libya. Our approach is based on the principles of resolving the existing contradictions by political and diplomatic means, through a broad national dialog, without external dictates and in compliance with the relevant decisions of the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council. This is highly appreciated by our partners in the region. This is our consistent position. So Russia's priorities in this vast region remain unchanged.

- It is known that the USSR and then the Russian Federation trained personnel for Syria and built important economic facilities. Many representatives of the Syrian military and political elite were trained in our educational institutions. Does this help our country in building relations with the new Syrian authorities? Are there those among the new leaders of the country who are in one way or another close to Russia?

- Indeed, over the years we have provided the Syrians with various kinds of support, including - in recent years - through the delivery of humanitarian aid and the reconstruction of social infrastructure destroyed during the conflict. It is well known about the significant historical role played by the Soviet Union in laying the foundations of the modern Syrian economy, strengthening its defense capabilities and training national personnel, both military and civilian.

Our position in favor of developing cooperation with Syria is consistent, does not depend on political conjuncture and changes of governments, and is based on time-tested relations of friendship and partnership. We are guided by a sincere desire to help the Syrian people, who are experiencing the harsh consequences of years of internal conflict.

We conveyed our position to the new Syrian leadership during our meeting with the current head of the Syrian Arab Republic, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, on January 28 in Damascus. We discussed with him issues related to the development of Russian-Syrian relations in various areas. They agreed to continue contacts in the interests of concretizing the opportunities that objectively exist in the sphere of bilateral cooperation.

"The work of the Quartet was virtually blocked by the United States almost three years ago"

-Since October 2023, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has faced an unprecedented aggravation of the situation. However, the Quartet for the settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict has not shown itself in any way during this most difficult period. Does this mean that the Quartet format has exhausted itself?

- The Middle East Quartet of international mediators, which includes Russia, the United States, the EU and the UN, cannot exhaust itself by definition, since this format was approved by UN Security Council resolutions. Our country has always proceeded from the importance of the Quartet as a unique mechanism for supporting the Arab-Israeli peace process.

It is another matter that the Quartet's work was virtually blocked three years ago by the United States, which had previously sought to completely isolate the role of sole mediator in Middle Eastern affairs. At the same time, the Americans, who essentially "privatized" this activity, were not seriously involved in the settlement of the conflict themselves, as they promoted and defended the interests of only one of the parties to the conflict.

From our point of view, the dramatic events unfolding since October 7, 2023 in the region are a direct consequence of Washington's undermining of multilateral diplomacy in the sphere of Middle East settlement. The principle of continuous international work to overcome conflicts in the strategically important region of the Middle East has been violated, which has had an extremely negative impact on the entire system of international relations. After all, the processes taking place there have an impact on stability and security in other parts of the world, including Europe.

Despite the refusal of the Americans and many Europeans to engage in dialogue, the Russian Federation, in its national capacity, continues its energetic efforts to normalize the situation in the Middle East. We are in constant dialog with the parties to the conflict and all countries of the region, with which we have historical relations based on the principles of trust, mutual respect and equality. President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have repeatedly reaffirmed the consistency of Russia's position in favor of a just settlement of the Palestinian problem in accordance with United Nations decisions centered on the two-State formula - Palestine on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and Israel coexisting in peace and security.

The Russian Federation was the first country to initiate a UN Security Council resolution on a humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack. Our draft was blocked by Western countries. Then history repeated itself several times both in the UN Security Council and in other international platforms. For example, at the "Peace Summit" in Cairo, convened by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on October 21, 2023. Then the final statement in favor of stopping hostilities and the unacceptability of the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza also failed to be adopted because of the position of the delegations of Western countries.

In recent days, the ideas of US President Donald Trump on the resettlement of Gaza residents and the transfer of the Strip to American ownership have been actively discussed. I would like to draw attention to the comment of Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov on this issue - Russia is committed to the "two-state" principle. The countries of the Middle East have also unequivocally expressed their position on this issue.

Throughout the 15 months of Arab-Israeli escalation, we have been working to bring the situation to a political and diplomatic level and to recover the hostages from Gaza. We hope that the ceasefire established in mid-January this year will be durable and pave the way for a comprehensive negotiation process focused on a peaceful Palestinian-Israeli settlement. Only in that way can long-term stability in the Middle East be achieved.

The States of the region, despite Western pressure, welcome our active peacekeeping role in the Middle East and North Africa. They have consistently invited us to events on the Palestinian issue. In particular, we participate in the work of the Global Alliance for a Two-State Solution to the Palestinian Problem. The first meeting of this format, in late November 2024, was hosted by Saudi Arabia as one of the founding members of the Alliance. We are grateful to our Saudi friends for inviting Russia to join this mechanism. We also participated in the next round of the alliance in mid-January this year in Oslo.

"We are ready to contribute to the formation of our own anti-crisis forces of the African states"

- For the Gulf monarchies, the US and other Western countries remain the main military and political allies. At the same time, we see that the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are deepening their cooperation with Russia. What is the Arab states' intention to build up ties with Russia? Are Russia and Qatar working on any agreement that implies strategic partnership and cooperation between the two countries?

- Yes, indeed, for the Arab monarchies of the Persian Gulf the United States and Western countries are among the leading military and political allies. American and British military bases are located on the territory of some of them. Several Arabian states have the status of a major U.S. ally outside NATO.

At the same time, Russia's relations with the GCC countries have always been, and continue to be, traditionally friendly. Despite the difficult geopolitical situation in the world, our cooperation is developing dynamically on all fronts, from trade and economic partnership to cultural and humanitarian interaction. The Russia-GCC Strategic Dialogue launched in November 2011 at the level of foreign ministers is an important mechanism for joint work. Its next, eighth meeting is scheduled for the second half of 2025 in a Russian city. Regular political contacts are maintained at the highest and highest levels. Active cooperation has been established through various specialized ministries and agencies.

There is certainly an explanation for such effective cooperation. Our relations are based on the principle of mutual respect and non-interference in the affairs of other States. In its long history of cooperation with the countries of the Persian Gulf, Russia has never been the cause of wars and conflicts in this region. We have much in common in terms of culture and civilization. We speak with one voice in defense of traditional values, first of all the institution of the family, as well as spiritual and moral guidelines.

And, of course, we have a solid economic foundation. There is a close trade, economic, financial and investment partnership between Russia and the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf. The powerful sanctions war unleashed by the United States and European countries against our country - contrary to the West's plan to isolate Russia - has opened up new opportunities for our Arabian friends to build mutually beneficial cooperation.

Qatar is no exception. The high quality of Russian-Qatari ties is reflected in the trustful political dialog at the highest level. Regular communication is also established between the heads of foreign ministries. The fifth meeting of the Joint Russian-Qatari Commission on Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation is scheduled to be held in Doha in March 2025. It is headed by First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov and Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani. We are actively working with the Qataris to expand the legal and contractual framework. We have many new promising projects and joint initiatives ahead of us.

- The Russian "security provider" approach has been successfully applied in Sudan, the Central African Republic and Mali. Are there any requests from other African states for cooperation with our country in this area?

- Our cooperation in the field of security in Africa is far from being limited to the countries you have mentioned. At the same time, Russian assistance in this area is always provided exclusively at the request of local authorities.

I regret to say that the political and socio-economic situation in many parts of Africa remains extremely unstable. Inter-ethnic and ethnic contradictions have not been resolved, and the growing activity of numerous terrorist organizations on the continent is of particular concern. The conflict potential remains high in the Sahara-Sahel region, the Central African Republic, the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa. The situation in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has now seriously deteriorated. At the same time, long-term peace and stability in Africa is a fundamental condition for further sustainable socio-economic development of the continent's states.

Against this background, Russia, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, is making every effort to resolve current conflicts and prevent the emergence of new ones, and is actively working on the platforms of the specialized structures of this world organization. For example, our country participates in the initiatives of the United Nations Office on Counter-Terrorism aimed at preventing weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists and in other programs.

In addition, we are increasing our joint work with our African partners to achieve peace, security, conflict prevention and resolution, and to combat terrorism. The relevant provisions are set out in the existing memoranda of cooperation between Russia and the African Union, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Intergovernmental Organization for Development (IGAD) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). We are ready to contribute to the formation of our own anti-crisis forces of African states.

As part of bilateral cooperation, Russia conducts annual training courses for African peacekeepers in specialized Russian educational organizations.

We are always open to cooperation and ready to share our experience with our African friends.

"Partners see Russia as a reliable friend"

- February 10 is Diplomatic Worker's Day in the Russian Federation. You have been in the diplomatic service since 1974 - 50 years. What is the most important achievement in your professional activity?

- Indeed, I have devoted my entire professional life to the diplomatic service.

It is known that the history of development of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa in the second half of the XX century and at the present stage is very dramatic. The USSR and Russia have always paid special attention to the development of ties with Middle Eastern and North African countries. This approach has resulted in building constructive and fruitful cooperation with all the states of the region without exception. Our partners see in Russia a reliable friend who is always ready to lend a shoulder in a difficult moment. I think that there can be no greater satisfaction from diplomatic work than to see how dynamically bilateral relations between our countries are developing and how friendship between our peoples is growing stronger.

- What qualities should a young diplomat working in a Middle Eastern country possess?

- There are probably no non-standard criteria here. First of all, it is patriotism, the realization that we are working in the interests of Russia. I would like to emphasize the importance of a deep knowledge of the region, its history, culture, and political development. The most important factor of success is also a good command of the language of the host country. Not the least role is played by such basic competencies for our entire ministry as work discipline, the desire for constant self-development, the ability to work in a team and adapt to a sometimes rapidly changing environment. I will also mention stress resistance and the willingness to limit oneself in the face of possible conflicts, including armed conflicts. All of this should be based on a keen interest in work and a clear understanding that every Russian diplomat abroad is a representative of his or her country, whose words and actions, among other things, shape the perception of Russia.