Mohammed Badie, Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, was arrested in Egypt. Alexander Ignatenko, Doctor of Philosophy, said that comparisons of the conflicts in Egypt and Syria were necessary, because both conflicts were augmented by foreign forces, mainly Qatar and Saudi Arabia. He noted that Qatar had spent tens of billions of dollars to bring Mohamed Morsi to power in Egypt, while Saudi Arabia was supporting the An-Nur Party of the Salafis.
The expert said that the situation looked like a struggle between the Arabian monarchies and Iran. He believes that neither Syria, nor Egypt benefit from the conflict.
Ignatenko reminded that a Russian resident of the North Caucasus had been detained in Egypt a few days earlier. The man had plans for construction of bombs and maps. Foreign mujahideens are fighting in the Sinai Peninsula. The Ansar ah-Sharia group of Al Qaeda and Sharia Followers were also reported to be fighting in the North Caucasus.
Marina Sapronova, Doctor of History and a professor of MGIMO, said that the only similarity visible was that both Egypt and Syria were unstable and there was a long way towards full stability. The situation in Egypt was peculiar with a halt to democratic processes. The situation in Syria started with a civil war. There were no regional players interested in escalating the situation in Egypt, unlike in Syria.
The expert said that violence in Sinai will end soon, because the Egyptian Army was the strongest in the Middle East. The Muslim Brotherhood was weakened and had lost the financial support of the Gulf monarchies, she said.
