RT: Has Russia lost its friends in the Middle East due to the Syrian crisis?

Expectations of Western propaganda about Russia’s loss of friends in the Middle East due to the Syrian crisis were shattered on the ground.

Maria Khudenskaya-Golensheva, Senior Advisor to the Foreign Policy Planning Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Professor of the Moscow Institute of International Relations, spoke during a general discussion on the topic “Russia in the Middle East: Strategy Formulation” organized by the Oriental Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Council Russian for International Affairs.

In her intervention while talking about the main features of the Syrian crisis, the Russian diplomat recalled the article that was published with the title: “Putin, the protector of the Shiites” (Putin, champion of the Shias) in the British magazine the Economist in October 2015.

This and many other articles published at that time, according to Khodenskaya-Golnysheva, reveal the inferiority and flaw of Western propaganda, and its focus only on defaming our country and presenting its policy as one-sided, aiming to support some players at the expense of relations with others.

“In this article and other similar materials I have made far-reaching conclusions that Russia, they say, is losing friends in the Middle East,” the diplomat said.

It was intended in the first place here are the kingdoms of the Gulf states.

Khodynskaya-Golnysheva also described Russia’s policy in the Middle East as being patriotic, multi-directional, pragmatic and open.

It suggested assessing the reasonableness of the Western estimates and expectations and comparing them with contemporary reality.

The diplomacy drew attention to the fact that the military operation of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria, which began at the end of September 2015, did not lead to a deterioration in relations with Arab countries.

“On the contrary, since then, and despite the expectations of the haters, the Russian bilateral relations with the Arab Gulf states have reached a completely different strategic level,” she stressed, in particular, with the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The diplomacy drew attention to the readiness of Russian diplomats for dialogue with all parties to the conflict.

Thanks to this, according to Khodenskaya-Gulnisheva, Russia participates in all formulas aimed at resolving the crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic, without exception.

The professor also listed some negotiation platforms and formulas, including the International Syria Support Group and its working groups on ceasefire and humanitarian access, the Astana formula, and the Syrian Working Group, which was established in 2012.

This is in addition to the status of a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

“Moreover, on Syria, Russia is interacting with absolutely all players, without exception,” she said.

Our policy is not only pragmatic, it is also non-ideological.

In this sense, we are of course in a unique position.

I think no one else has these advantages”.

The spokeswoman drew attention to the fact that Russia’s accomplishment of the tasks set in Syria was made possible by the combination of painstaking diplomatic work and the use of the military capabilities of the Russian Ministry of Defense for counterterrorism purposes.

According to her words, the active dialogue with some countries in the region made it possible to eliminate (meaning transportation under the control of the Syrian government) three of the four de-escalation zones that were established by a decision from the Astana formula: Eastern Ghouta, Hama-Homs, and southern Syria.

According to the diplomacy’s view, Russia can effectively use the settlement experience gained on the Syrian track to solve other regional crises, including the ongoing conflicts in Libya and Yemen.