Middle East response: Lavrov confirms plans to support Syria
The terrorists' attack in Syria has been carefully and long prepared, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during his visit to Qatar, where, among other things, a meeting in the Astana format was held. Russia, Iran and Turkey, which are participating in it, have called for a ceasefire and the start of dialog between Damascus and the opposition. Moscow will continue to support the legitimate Syrian authorities. At the same time, the Russian side will take steps to resume negotiations between the conflicting sides. But it is important to distance the "non-terrorist opposition" from the extremists who are now fighting.
Lavrov took part in the Doha forum
To participate in the 22nd Doha Forum, Russian Minister Sergei Lavrov flew late in the evening of December 5 from Malta, where the OSCE ministerial meeting was taking place.
The Doha Forum has been held annually since 2000 and serves as a platform for dialog between world leaders, experts and representatives of civil society. In fact, it is one big platform where there is an opportunity to discuss a wide range of political and economic issues, as well as to promote national interests through the means of public diplomacy (this is where the leading role is played by the expert and business community), Leonid Tsukanov, an orientalist, tells Izvestia.
This year, according to the host country's statements, more than 4.5 thousand guests took part in the forum. Seven participating states were represented at the level of heads of state (Kazakhstan, Mozambique, Dominican Republic, Namibia, Senegal, CAR, Rwanda), ten - at the level of foreign ministers (among them Russia, Iran, Norway, Turkey, Cyprus and Panama). Among the guests of honor are U.S. First Lady Jill Biden and the wife of Turkish leader Emine Erdogan.
U.S. First Lady Jill Biden
The sessions of the first day of the summit were devoted to finding a peaceful solution and stability for Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Ukraine. By the way, at the session devoted to the Ukrainian crisis, the participation of the Russian minister was not expected, as well as the presence of representatives of the Kiev authorities. However, among the speakers was Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, who, incidentally, like Sergey Lavrov, came to the forum from Malta. In general, the main slogan of the Doha 2024 discussions was "The Innovation Imperative", in other words, new approaches to solving pressing global problems.
In addition to attending the summit, the Russian minister met with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein and the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen. Sergei Lavrov discussed the advanced nature of bilateral relations with Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani.
It is important to note that Russia and Qatar maintain an active dialog in bilateral contacts, as well as on international platforms (Arab League, Gulf Cooperation Council and others), notes Leonid Tsukanov.
- This partnership is a "two-way street". The parties see each other as promising partners - trade turnover between them is growing. The most active cooperation is in the sector of digital technologies and oil and gas industry. Tourist and cultural exchanges have been intensified. Russian experience in the field of protection of critical information infrastructure from massive cyberattacks, as well as the experience of harmonization of legislation in the field of advanced technologies is extremely important for Doha," the expert said.
The situation in Syria was discussed in the Astana format
One of the goals of the visit of the head of Russian diplomacy to Qatar was to discuss the aggravated situation in Syria in the so-called Astana format (Russia, Iran, Turkey). Negotiations on this issue were held at the Doha Forum on December 7. UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen took part in the second part of the discussion.
The aggravation of the situation in the republic began on November 27. Then members of the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (a terrorist organization banned in Russia) launched an attack on Aleppo and Hama. Three days later, the city of Aleppo and its environs were already under the militants' control. The Syrian authorities then reported the redeployment of troops outside the city of Hama. The Russian Embassy in Damascus advised citizens to use commercial flights to leave the country as soon as possible. Jordan closed the Jabir border crossing on the border with Syria.
- We strongly reaffirmed the territorial integrity, sovereignty and unity of the Syrian Arab Republic. We called for the immediate cessation of hostile activities, we said that we want resolution (UN Security Council. - Ed.) 2254 to be fully implemented, and to that end we called for dialogue between the Government and the legitimate opposition, as stipulated in that resolution. The main thing is not to say something new, but to implement everything you have signed up to," Sergey Lavrov summed up the results of the talks in the Astana format during his speech.
Later, in a conversation with Russian journalists, the minister also noted that Europeans should think about the consequences of the escalation in Syria. "The problem is those who unleashed wars in Libya, in Iraq, who have now brought Syria, having tried to make it also a country with a changed regime back in 2011, <...> to the state it is in. They are not thinking about the consequences. Refugees don't run across the ocean, as you know. So the Europeans should have thought about this problem. Let them use their influence, although maybe there is no influence left, on Washington, explaining to the Americans that such games end very badly," said the Russian Foreign Minister.
At the same time, US President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office next January, said that the States should not interfere in the situation in Syria. On December 7, it was reported that Syrian troops and the Russian Air Force launched strikes on the positions of terrorists.
According to Sergey Lavrov, the terrorists' offensive in the republic was carefully and long before these events planned in order to change the "balance of forces." Moscow will continue to support the legitimate Syrian authorities, he noted. "And at the same time, of course, we will actively promote the need to resume dialog with the opposition, as required by Resolution 2254," he added. The Russian minister called unacceptable the use of terrorists in Syria to achieve geopolitical goals. Now it is important to prevent the strengthening of extremists represented by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and distance "the non-terrorist opposition from this group", Sergey Lavrov emphasized.
Qatar may become a permanent platform for discussions in the Astana format in the future, said Murad Sadigzadeh, president of the Center for Middle East Studies.
- Qatar tried to become a mediator at the beginning of the conflict, but Doha's support for a number of opposition groups prevented it from becoming a neutral mediator. Today, however, the situation is different, and the Astana format can really move to Doha in a full-fledged way. I think that it will be actively involved in this issue, given the successful cases of Qatar's mediation in recent years. Besides its platform, it will use other levers to reach a compromise between the parties to the conflict. This is important both for the country's reputation and for strengthening its regional position," the expert says.
At the same time, in his opinion, one meeting is unlikely to be enough: the escalation is still too fresh, and it is unlikely that it will be possible to stop it instantly and turn it into a diplomatic course. Nevertheless, it was important for the participants in the Astana format to discuss ways to localize the conflict and the possible launch of dialogue between Damascus and Ankara. It is known that Turkish forces are on the territory of Syria, which has repeatedly called on the neighboring country to withdraw its units.
