Bloomberg View: "Russia and US have different points of view on state sovereignty"

The US analytical publiction Bloomberg View wrote about the reasons for the differences between the approaches of Russia and the US over Syria. Now that it has become clear that Russia will take part in resolving the Syrian issue, the US strategists are forced to look for ways to confront Moscow. This is a familiar situation: for years the White House has been replying to the Kremlin's every action regarding foreign policy, rather than admitting that Russia and the US have different points of view on issues of state sovereignty.

For Russia, sovereignty is a traditional concept, which means that every state has complete power over its territories, and external forces have no right to interfere in the affairs of other countries. The European countries and the US have a different concept, on the basis of so-called humanitarian values: that is, if a regime is harmful to its citizens, the intervention of external forces is acceptable. This concept allows, first of all, for the US to spread its hegemony to all the world's regions, justifying its actions by humanism and concern for people.

In 2005 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution 'The responsibility to protect', which allows the international community to use all appropriate means to protect the population of a country from a regime that carries out ethnic cleansing and committing war crimes. 'Responsibility to protect' was first officially used to justify the military intervention in Libya in 2011. Russia is one of the few countries that consider the Libyan intervention to be a mistake on a global scale, which led to the further destruction of the country than happened under the regime of Muammar Gaddafi.

However, the situation in Syria is actually much worse than it was in Libya: because of the European and the American intervention in the country, millions of people are forced to flee, and so-called Islamic State is experiencing a period of expansion, also due to the forced migrants.The experience has shown that poorly planned international assistance can create or exacerbate social divisions, thereby contributing to the deterioration of the situation in a particular region. And this happens wherever there the US military is. So it was in Iraq, Libya and now in Syria. As long as the US does not recognize the failure of its foreign policy and does not come to a diplomatic solution of the crisis, the population of Syria will endure the horrors of war. Despite the condemnation of the international community, thanks to the efforts of Russia in the Syrian issue, the country still has a chance to avoid the destiny of becoming another victim of US hegemony.

The US independent publication Politico writes that in case of the failure of the deal on the Iranian nuclear program, the relationship between the US and Iran will be stopped. Many opponents of the nuclear deal in the United States have expressed the view that there is an opportunity to review the agreement, which could result in "taking more and giving less." However, if the current agreement will be blocked by Congress, it is unlikely that the White House will have a chance to continue the relationship with Iran. The only way for Washington finally not to lose its credibility on the international political arena is the conclusion of the agreement. Then there is the theoretical possibility that the US will be able to monitor Iran's nuclear program, and thereby gain some influence in the region.

However, even if the deal is approved by the US Congress, the country is faced with the fact that, along with Russia and China, the position of Iran will be strengthened, and the Iranian leaders have repeatedly stated that they do not intend to establish economic or strategic cooperation with the United States, so they would rather keep their longtime partner, namely Russia. Current US President Barack Obama counted on the fact that, by giving Iran hope for the lifting of sanctions, the United States would get unlimited control of the Middle East in return. But his plans were not destined to come true. The country has already lost its friendships with Saudi Arabia and Israel, and now Washington is risking being pushed out of the world political arena if the deal is approved, and if the agreement is still to be adopted, then the internal situation in the country will deteriorate due to the emergence of a strong competitor in the face of Iran.

Tehran would be in a better position in any case. If there is a positive outcome, the sanctions will be lifted and the government expects financial stability and leadership in the Middle East region. If everything remains as it was, due to its nuclear program, Iran's strategic dominance will be an obstacle to the United States in its attempts to penetrate the Middle East region. In addition, close cooperation with Russia will allow the country to avoid financial difficulties, despite the preservation of the sanctions.