🌍 Middle Eastern Conflicts: Emotional and Rational

On February 8, 2024, the Valdai Club hosted the presentation of a new report: “Gaza. Yemen. Epicentres of pain. Feelings, myths and memory in the Middle East” on the eve of the 13th Middle East Conference.

💬 Discussion moderator Andrey Sushentsov noted that despite some positive trends emerging in 2023, the escalation of tension in the region continues to increase. Against this background, he proposed to discuss the emotional aspect of conflicts in the Middle East - the role of feelings, myths, and memory in them.

💬 “It would be unfair to say that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict suddenly splashed onto the surface of world politics: it never left it,” noted Vitaly Naumkin, an academician at the Russian Academy of Sciences, scientific director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences who was one of the authors of the Valdai Club report. “Without resolving this conflict, nothing good will happen in the Middle East,” he emphasised. He named the unprecedented explosion of violence and the Palestinian indignation, as well as the emergence of Yemen as a new player in the conflict. Speaking about the report, Naumkin indicated that it covers not only rational approaches to the conflict, but also symbolic and emotional ones, affecting its basis of identity.

💬 Normalisation between Israel and the Arab countries cannot on its own solve the Palestinian issue, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had hoped, said Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary General and Co-Founder of the Palestinian National Initiative. Barghouti added that Netanyahu has built his career on destroying opportunities for an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement, including the Oslo accords. As a result, Israel has become greatly radicalised, both at the level of political parties and in terms of popular sentiment, and it is now strongly opposed to compromises. In turn, Hamas, according to Barghouti, has also changed, moving towards nationalism, although remaining an Islamic movement. He also pointed out the serious gap between the position of the Arab population and their governments regarding what is currently happening in the Gaza Strip, which entails potentially serious consequences for these countries.

💬 Sergey Serebrov, senior research fellow at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, briefly outlined the situation in Yemen. In his opinion, Yemen can be seen both as a separate epicentre of the conflict (a civil war has been going on there since 2015) and as part of a larger picture. Events in the Palestinian-Israeli zone have taken the Yemeni conflict in a new direction. What is happening could become “a ticking bomb for the entire region,” Serebrov emphasised. He noted that the Houthis have not blocked shipping as such, but only Israeli cargo. A real threat to shipping was created by the activities of the American-British coalition, apparently aimed at establishing and consolidating dominance in the Red Sea.

https://valdaiclub.com/events/posts/articles/middle-eastern-conflicts-emotional-and-rational/

#MiddleEastValdai #valdai_report #MiddleEast

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🗣 TOMORROW, on February 13, 2024, the opening of the Valdai Club thirteenth annual Middle East Conference, titled “Time for decisive action: a comprehensive settlement for the sake of stability in the region,” will take place in Moscow.

🗺️ The Middle East conference will be attended by about 50 international and Russian experts and political figures from 16 countries, including Algeria, Egypt, India, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Palestine, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Turkey. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will be the guest of honour at the conference.

During the conference, experts will discuss the following issues:

▪️ Paths to a comprehensive settlement in the Middle East;
▪️ The legacy of colonial policy and its echoes in the Middle East;
▪️ The Palestinian-Israeli conflict;
▪️ Diversity of players in the Middle East;
▪️ A Middle East without nuclear weapons;
▪️ Economic cooperation in the region.

Working languages: English, Arabic, Russian.

Programme of the 13th Middle East Conference

ℹ️ Information for the media: to be accredited for the event, fill out the form on our website. If you have any questions about the event, please call +79269307763. 

Links to the live broadcast of open sessions will be posted on all online platforms of the Valdai Club: on the website, X (formerly Twitter), VKontakte, Telegram and Dzen.

‼️ Accreditation will close today at 16.00 Moscow time.

#MiddleEastValdai #MiddleEast

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🗣 TODAY, on February 13, at 09:55 Moscow time, the opening of the Valdai Club 13th annual Middle East Conference, titled “Time for decisive action: a comprehensive settlement for the sake of stability in the region,” will take place at the Club’s headquarters in Moscow.

📆 Programme for February 13, Tuesday

09:55 – 10:00 — Opening of the conference (live: English, Arabic, Russian)

10:00 – 11:30 — Session 1. Towards a Comprehensive Settlement in the Middle East (live: English, Arabic, Russian)

The world is witnessing another round of violence in the Middle East, triggered by the unsolved crisis in Palestine. It has been going on for more than seventy years, despite a series of UN Security Council resolutions that should have paved the way for peace settlement. In recent years, there have been attempts to essentially freeze the peace process, which has only made the status quo more dangerous. Only realization of the legitimate rights of the peoples living there can serve as foundation for a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, and this requires a constructive approach of all parties concerned.

12:00 – 13:30 — Meeting with Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (live: English, Arabic, Russian)

14:30 – 16:00 — Session 2. Heritage of Colonial Policy and Its Echoes in the Middle East (live: English, Arabic, Russian)

The clash of interests between Russia and Western countries in Eastern Europe accelerates the crumbling of the global post-colonial system. Regional in its nature, the security crisis in Europe indirectly triggered developments in other regions of the world. A chain of conflicts of varying degrees of intensity leads to a change in the overall balance and generally contributes to the weakening of Western dominance. Double standards in the West's assessment of the developments in Ukraine and Palestine, bias and lack of desire to find a fair and balanced solution give additional impetus to changes on the world stage.

16:30 – 18:00 — Session 3. Question of Palestine – What Is Next? (live: English, Arabic, Russian)

The crisis of autumn 2023 has brought the question of Palestine back to the centre of the political agenda in the Middle East and around the world. Those who in recent years were inclined to think that the issue was peripheral have been convinced that this is not the case. The war in Gaza has shown that there is no solution by force, but that the political and diplomatic process requires fundamental rethinking. How can we respond to the challenge of the situation while ensuring the legitimate rights to security and development of all the peoples involved.

Programme of the 13th Middle East Conference

Links to the live broadcast of open sessions will be posted on all online platforms of the Valdai Club: on the website, X (formerly Twitter), VKontakte, Telegram and Dzen.

#MiddleEastValdai #MiddleEast #colonialism #Palestine #valdai_programme

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🎥 LIVE: at 09:55 Moscow time, the opening of the Valdai Club 13th annual Middle East Conference “Time for decisive action: a comprehensive settlement for the sake of stability in the region,” will start, and its first session, titled “Towards a Comprehensive Settlement in the Middle East,” will follow. Watch the live broadcast:

In English

In Arabic

In Russian

📌 Programme of the 13th Middle East Conference

#MiddleEastValdai #MiddleEast

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🎥 LIVE: at 12:00 Moscow time, the meeting with Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation @MFARussia, will take place within the framework of the Middle East Conference. Watch the live broadcast:

In English

In Arabic

In Russian

#MiddleEastValdai

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🗣 The meeting with Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation @MFARussia, within the framework of the Middle East Conference

📷 Photo gallery

🎥 Video

#MiddleEastValdai #Lavrov

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🌍 The main consequence of colonialism and imperialism in the Middle East is that even decades after the collapse of the colonial system, the region has not become one of the world’s centres of power, although it has the civilisational potential necessary for this.

From the point of view of interstate relations, the Western powers left behind a very painful legacy. After all, the boundaries of mandated territories and emerging states were drawn in the interests of the colonial powers and did not take into account the realities on the ground. Thus, Greater Syria (the Levant) was divided into four politically and militarily weak entities: Lebanon, present-day Syria, Jordan and Palestine. Disagreements, contradictions and rivalries weakened the countries of the region.

The colonial powers left behind the potential not only for numerous territorial disputes, but also for the emergence of chronic tensions, writes Nikolay Surkov, senior researcher at the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies, IMEMO RAS, for the 13th Middle East Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/the-middle-east-from-dependency-and-clientelism/

#MiddleEastValdai #Return_of_Diplomacy #MiddleEast #colonialism

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🎥 LIVE: at 14:30 Moscow time, the second session of the Valdai Club Middle East Conference, titled “Heritage of Colonial Policy and Its Echoes in the Middle East,” will start. Watch the live broadcast:

In English

In Arabic

In Russian

📌 Programme of the 13th Middle East Conference

#MiddleEastValdai #MiddleEast

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🗣 Session 2 of the Valdai Club Middle East Conference, titled “Heritage of Colonial Policy and Its Echoes in the Middle East”

📷 Photo gallery

🎥 Video

#MiddleEastValdai #MiddleEast

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🎥 LIVE: at 16:30 Moscow time, the third session of the Valdai Club Middle East Conference, titled “Question of Palestine – What Is Next?,” will start. Watch the live broadcast:

In English

In Arabic

In Russian

📌 Programme of the 13th Middle East Conference

#MiddleEastValdai #MiddleEast #Palestine

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🗣 The first day of the Valdai Club Middle East Conference was completed by the third session , titled “Question of Palestine – What Is Next?”

📷 Photo gallery

🎥 Video

#MiddleEastValdai #MiddleEast

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📌 Good morning! Today, the Middle East Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club continues.

📆 Programme for February 14, Wednesday

10:30 – 12:00 — Session 4. Diversity of Actors in the Middle East: Is Balance Achievable?

The emergence of influential and proactive actors aspiring to become autonomous centres of power in the Middle East suggests the formation of multipolarity in the region. Will the new system help contain conflicts, establish and strengthen new formats of interaction between regional powers without the involvement of external forces, and exercise a more tangible national sovereignty?

12:30 – 14:00 — Session 5. Is a Nuclear-free Middle East Possible?

The issue of nuclear weapons has returned to the agenda due to the general escalation of international tensions. It is highly relevant in West Asia, which is believed to have de facto nuclear and threshold powers. Under certain circumstances, a number of states may pursue nuclear weapons programmes. How does this factor affect the regional atmosphere and what should be the international strategy in light of this?

15:00 – 16:30 — Session 6. Economic Cooperation in the Region: Opportunities and Challenges

Trade and economic cooperation between Russia and the countries of the Middle East and North Africa is one of the pillars of Moscow's regional strategy. The session will address the potential for the implementation of joint energy and logistics projects, the opportunities offered by cooperation in finance, technology and investment, as well as possible solutions to food security challenges.

Programme of the 13th Middle East Conference

#MiddleEastValdai #valdai_programme #MiddleEast

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🇮🇱 The State of Israel and the people of Israel have known many crises and have withstood difficult times.

As of now, Israel is fighting on various fronts: Gaza, Lebanon, Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorist organizations in Lebanon, Shi’ite militias from Syria and western Iraq, terrorists from Judea and Samaria (a.k.a. the West Bank), Iran, and the Houthis in Yemen. All of them are components of the resistance axis led by Iran; provided, supported and guided by Iran. Israel is focusing on the Gaza front.

Still, it must be ensured that the enemy internalizes the readiness of the IDF forces to launch an attack on Lebanon should Hezbollah launch a challenge. The leaders of Hezbollah and Lebanon understand the devastating implications should fighting extend to Lebanon.

International pressure to reach a ceasefire will come. Israel must not blink in the face of the impulses of the so-called “international community,” write Colonel (res.) Prof. Gabi Siboni, and Prof. Kobi Michael for the 13th Middle East conference of the Valdai Discussion Club. The article reflects the Israeli point of view.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/israel-s-war-objectives/

🇵🇸 The Palestinian position is presented here.

#MiddleEastValdai #Return_of_Diplomacy #Israel

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