By Vestnik Kavkaza
September began with an attempt by the League of Arab States to form a common position toward a possibility of striking Syria. However, heads of foreign political departments of the LAS couldn’t agree on the Syrian issue at the meeting in Cairo. Egypt and Iraq are against foreign intervention, while Saudi Arabia and Qatar urges strong activities. According to some experts, the center of gravity shifts toward these two states in the region. Vitaly Naumkin, the head of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the RAS, told Vestnik Kavkaza about prospects of relations between Moscow and Riyadh.
- Could you please comment on the relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia and Qatar?
- We actually have serious contradictions on many problems – not only on Syria, but also the problem of the support certain radical movements in these countries.
However, I would say that our state relations with Saudi Arabia, for example, are developing normally. We cooperate in the economic sphere, in the sphere of the struggle against terrorism – I mean the governments. Even with Qatar, despite the tension which appears from time to time, and the current relations are going through difficult times today, in general Russia tries not to gain new enemies in the Middle East and supports balanced relations with everybody.
- Can the North Caucasus contribute to the improvement of relations with Saudi Arabia, as Kadyrov used to visit the Saudis?
- I don’t think Mr. Kadyrov can play a key role in this situation but he can contribute to it. There is a theory in the Middle East that our Muslims can be a bridge for improvement of relations. It happens from time to time. On the other hand, we see that some informal international network structures of the Middle East try to influence our Muslims negatively and try to spread their ideas, which are alien to our Russian Islam. I think the North Caucasus as an important Muslim region can contribute to the stabilization of these relations.
