Yemen: a Playground of Powers
Russia was not enthusiastic about the UN Security Council statement condemning the Iranian attacks carried out by the Houthis on strategic sites in the UAE.
This is a position which reveals the fact that Russia does not want peace and security to prevail in the region mired in covert and overt wars.
Russia is not looking for peace in Syria unless it strengthens its presence there for an unknown period. For peace in Syria, the Russians would keep reminding the Bashar Al-Assad regime that it owes Russia its continuous presence in the country.
The Russians who have benefited from Iranian services want to return those services, but outside Syria, in areas where the Russian hold has not extended because the United States did not allow that to happen.
The United States and Britain are directly concerned with the issue of Yemen. If they think that the statement of condemnation issued by the Security Council was enough, this will mean that they are close to the Russian position and share the desire not to deter Iran by limiting the aggressive activity of its followers in the region. As I see it, a faint statement of the kind issued by the Security Council could encourage Iran’s other appendages to carry out similar aggressive activities.
If Russia had seen any significance for that statement, it would not have agreed to it, but it knows that it is just a puff of air in a vacuum in which no one resides.
[by Farouk Yousif in Al Arab, London]
Arabs as One Hand
The joint Arab action led by the Arab ambassadors in Vienna has played an important role in the meetings of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency. It is one of the main fronts which safeguard the interests, security and stability of the region. It is one of many heads in which the Arabs need to unite their ranks to achieve common objectives and interests of the Arab nation. The State of Qatar’s assuming of the presidency of the current session of the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Vienna, and the members of the Council of Arab Ambassadors’ affirmation of cooperation to support the joint Arab action process, is a milestone in the direction of further strengthening the Arab nation in the face of the many challenges currently surrounding the region.
Conflicts have continued in the region which have led to displacement of millions who want a helping hand to provide the minimum basic humanitarian needs. The region has also suffered due to the outbreak of the Corona pandemic. All these massive challenges and growing threats want from these Arab countries to intensify and multiply joint action. They should develop frameworks for collective security and fruitful cooperation for the benefit of the Arabs.
This will herald the transition to a new phase of positive momentum in Arab relations and the implementation of joint action for the good of the region.
[Editorial Al Sharq, Doha]