Expert of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) Stefan Meister commented on another phase of aggravation in US-Russian relations amid recent incidents in Syria in an interview with DLF. After the destruction of Syria's Su-22 by US-led military coalition, in protest against such actions, Moscow ceased its interaction with the US military under the Memorandum on the Prevention of Incidents and Ensuring Air Safety in Syria. The degree of Russian-American confrontation is growing even more due to this, and today many people are asking whether the threat of a direct clash between Russia and the United States in the Middle East is real.
"Such danger exists, at the moment it is discussed in the media, the possibility of further escalation that could lead to a conflict between the US and Russia is discussed very actively in Russian media. I'm skeptical about this. I don't want to downplay the significance of last incident. Actually, there's an extremely dangerous situation in the region. Escalation may begin as a result of a mistake or deliberate bombardments," Meister noted. "But right now we see that the US Secretary of State is really trying to develop a new Russian policy, in which he puts strong emphasis on Syria and cooperation with Russia on the Syrian issue. There is a military channel of communication between Americans and Russians, which was used in this case. We see that attempts are being made to defuse situation," he added.
He recalled that Rex Tillerson recently presented a plan for relations with Russia, which includes three points. One of the points is to identify topics that are important for Americans, which should be discussed with Russia. "Such topics include Syria, North Korea and cyberattacks. This means that Americans want to establish more active contacts with Russians in Syria, they want to work with Russia more closely. We see that Americans are now more active in Syria, including in their support of independent Syrian groups, so to speak. But the US also plan to establish a dialogue with Russia on the Syrian problem and, possibly, to achieve greater cooperation," he believes.
According to him, despite the US political turmoil, dialogue between the two countries is necessary. "Yes, Russia is a very toxic topic in the US policy. Everything that concerns steps towards Russia is dangerous for Trump. But in the end, we're talking about an understanding of issues that are important for international policy, which must be discussed with Russia, since Russia is a player that can't be ignored," he stressed.
Meister believes that both sides will lose from direct confrontation. "Russia entered Syria so that America would recognize it, recongnize that it is an important player in the region and that its position on other issues must also be taken into account. But Russia is not interested in escalation with the US, and, similarly, Americans have no interest in it either."
Only Daesh will benefit from from direct Russian-American confrontation in Syria "Russian-American clash would be an ideal scenario for Daesh, since attention of all players in the region would be diverted from the fight against terrorism," Stefan Meister warned.
