Russia: Putin’s Middle East Diplomatic Blitz – Syria Egypt Turkey
Working Monday of Vladimir Putin began very early. Judging by the data of open sources, already at five o’clock in the morning his plane left Adler and, 45 minutes later, landed at the airfield of Khmeimim in Syrian Latakia, the main base of the Russian military security services taking part in the civil war in that country on the side and at the invitation of the government of the country and personally President Bashar Assad.
Assad himself, whom Putin rescued from virtually desperate situations twice – in 2013, when the United States almost came out against him on the pretext of the inadmissibility of using chemical weapons, and in 2015, when the banned group in Russia, the Islamic state controlled 70% of the country’s territory and had a strategic initiative – met his, probably, the savior on the take-off field.
The Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Federation, together with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Bashar Assad, conducted a working review of the Russian contingent in Syria, and then announced the “rout” of the terrorists and the curtailment of an operation that lasted more than two years, and ordered a “large part of the contingent” to prepare to be sent home.
According to General Sergey Surkovkin, who commanded the contingent at the last stage of the operation, during the two years of the war, about 7,000 flights of Russian aircraft and the same number of helicopters were committed, about 32,000 terrorists and slightly less than 400 tanks were destroyed and almost 1,000 settlements were liberated.
“We will never forget about the sacrifices and losses that have been incurred in the fight against terror both here in Syria and in Russia,” Putin said in his speech. “But it will not make us fold our hands and retreat, it’s not in the nature of our people at all.” On the contrary, this memory will give us additional forces for eradicating that absolute evil, which is terrorism, under whatever face it hides and disguises itself.”
According to official data, during the operation more than 40 people of the personnel of the Russian armed forces were killed. Among them, high-ranking commanders are Lieutenant-General Valery Asapov and Alexander Vyaznikov.
“You with a victory return to the native places, to the relatives, parents, wives, children, friends. Homeland is waiting for you, friends. Good luck. Thank you for your service, “Putin summed up his speech. However, later he added that the points of permanent deployment in Khmeimim and Tartous will remain and will function in full readiness.
After staying at the airbase for three hours, the Russian president went further along the planned route (accompanied by Russian fighters) to Cairo. Here he met with Egyptian President Abdel Facttah al-Sisi.
After the overthrow of the power of the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Mursi, who came to power in the wake of the Arab Spring, and the restoration of the secular regime in 2013, Moscow consistently built up a trusting relationship with the military community of Egypt.
One of the most important signs that the mutual understanding between President Putin and Field Marshal Al-Sisi was achieved could be considered a ransom by Cairo from France of two Mistral-type helicopter carriers built by the order of Russia after the introduction of international sanctions. Subsequently, the competition for the supply of attack helicopters for these ships was won by the Russian manufacturer of Ka-52K helicopters.
Questions of military-technical cooperation, of course, were not confined to the conversation. First of all, Putin, he said, told his Egyptian colleague about some details of his conversation with Assad. Although Egypt is not directly involved in the Syrian conflict, in the status of a regional power it can become one of the guarantors of a peaceful post-war political settlement in the country. Moreover, some of the defeated Islamists in Syria now, apparently, moved to Sinai and plan to continue their activities there.
Al-Sisi, in a conversation with Putin, also worried about the support of the second front against the Islamists in Libya. In addition, it was important for the Egyptian leader to hear the opinion of his Russian counterpart about the capital of Israel. Recall, literally the day before, the US president announced the postponement of his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which was evoked by the violent negative reaction of the Arab countries, which considered it an aggressive gesture against the Palestinian Authority.
“Russia fully supports all decisions that were adopted earlier on this issue by the UN Security Council. We consider counterproductive any steps that anticipate the outcome of the dialogue between the Palestinians and the Israelis. We believe that such steps are destabilizing, do not help resolve the situation, but, on the contrary, provoke conflict, “Putin clearly, accurately, indicated his position on this issue, in fact supporting the Arab side.
It is noteworthy that during the joint statements the translator al-Sisi accidentally or deliberately translated the appeal of the President of Egypt to Putin several times as “Your Majesty”. For the third time this misunderstanding caused a slight smile on the Russian leader.
From the speeches of the leaders following the results of the meeting, it became clear that agreements had been reached on it not so much on geopolitical issues, but also on economic ones. Putin recalled that Russia is always ready to meet Egypt’s grain needs, as it has been doing for more than seven years.
In addition, there was a solemn signing of a general contract for the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Egypt in the “Ed-Dabaa” area by Rosatom. The Russian national leader stressed that the Egyptian side will receive not only the power plant itself, but also the corresponding technologies.
Finally, the most likely problem for Russians in relations with Egypt – the restoration of direct air traffic after the attack on Sinai in the fall of 2015 – also showed signs of a positive shift. Putin with some reservations said that in general, Russia is ready to resume flights to the Egyptian capital Cairo.
The fact that the talks between As-Sisi and Putin were not only military but also economic in nature was evidenced by the presence at the formal performance of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, Finance Minister Anatoly Siluanov, who supervises the defense industry complex.
On the next point of his route – the capital of Turkey – the Russian president arrived around eight in the evening, where he immediately went to a solemn dinner in his honor at the presidential palace of his colleague Recep Tayyip Erdogan. As the press secretary of the Russian leader Dmitry Peskov told during the flight, during this meeting the issue of nuclear energy was also planned – the construction of the Akkuyu power station by the Russian side.
At the end of the meeting, President Erdogan had to re-state his position on the status of Jerusalem at the insistence of Erdogan and to carefully join the issue with the Muslim countries. In addition, it was reported on the achievement of final agreements on lending to Turkey for the purchase of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems.
The President’s plane returned home to Adler already after midnight.
For today, on December 12, Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet with the judges of the Constitutional Court in Moscow.
Such a difficult and dynamic schedule forces us to assume that the main candidate in the presidential elections in 2018 is already in full swing and is demonstrating its main achievements in the Middle East direction – virtually all independent leaders of the region recognize his (if not absolute) role as an arbitrator.
Earlier, a source close to the Kremlin, Gazeta.Ru, claimed that the foreign policy focus of the campaign would focus on successes in Syria and “normal relations with the BRICS and SCO countries.” All other international affairs are “not a topic to be discussed”. Therefore, now that the foreign policy map is so clearly played, it can be assumed that further the electoral campaign of the main candidate will focus on the internal agenda.
Political analyst Abbas Gallamiov believes that statements similar to the withdrawal of troops from Syria and the resumption of air communication with Egypt, Putin does on the basis of a request for change, which has already reached a high mark in society and continues to grow stronger.
“The Kremlin needs to demonstrate changes wherever it is possible: in personnel policy, in working with the opposition, in international relations. Once there was an opportunity to change the agenda in Syria and Egypt, the authorities decided to take advantage of this “, the expert explains the pragmatic course of the authorities’ thoughts.
According to Galliamov, people are beginning to get tired of confrontation in all directions, so now they are trying to show that the situation is normal. The Kremlin can soften its rhetoric in other areas, including in relation to Western countries, but at any cost the world will not look.
The political scientist is sure that Putin is most concerned with being a winner, not a loser. And, therefore, will never take a step that can be perceived as the surrender of positions.
“But they will not be able to climb into the barrel either. The situation with the Olympics is an example. They made a noise, made a noise, and went under the neutral flag, “the expert notes.
