Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Friday 3 November 2017
Russia takes on Mideast diplomacy as US retreats

By ZEINA KARAM world powers — a stance key partners,” he said. King Salman of Saudi Ara- of Assad.
Associated Press reiterated by Putin himself Still, Putin appears to be bia visited Moscow last SYRIA POWER BROKER
BEIRUT (AP) — After watch- Thursday on a visit to Teh- positioning himself as Mid- month and signed multi- Moscow’s military involve-
ing for years as the United ran. It has also reached out east broker, seeking to billion-dollar energy deals ment in the Syrian war
States called the shots in since 2015 has propped up
the region, Russian Presi- Assad’s forces and turned
dent Vladimir Putin is seiz- the conflict in his favor,
ing the reins of diplomacy while Russian mediation
in the Middle East, estab- earlier this year launched
lishing footholds and strik- cease-fire talks in Asta-
ing alliances with unlikely na, Kazakhstan. The talks,
partners. sponsored jointly with Iran
From the battlefields of and Turkey, have brokered
Syria to its burgeoning re- local deals that have signif-
lationships with Iran and icantly reduced violence
Turkey to its deepening ties in the war-torn country.
with Saudi Arabia, Russia This week, Russia an-
is stepping in to fill a void nounced plans to host
left by the United States Syrian groups and govern-
first under the Obama ad- ment representatives for
ministration and now in political talks on Nov. 18 —
the vastly inconsistent and just 10 days before a new
largely hands-off policies round of U.N.-sponsored
of Donald Trump. talks are to start in Geneva.
Embroiled in controversy The invitation has roiled Syr-
at home and loath to en- ian opposition groups who
gaging in the strife-riddled In this Oct. 5, 2017 photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman described it as an attempt
region beyond fighting the pose for a photo during a welcoming ceremony in Moscow, Russia. After watching for years as to “bypass” U.N. efforts to
Islamic State group, Trump the United States called the shots in the region, Russian President Vladimir Putin is seizing the reins resolve the country’s con-
has largely stayed on the of power in the Middle East, establishing footholds and striking alliances with unlikely partners. flict and dictate the terms
(Alexei Nikolsky/Pool Photo via AP)
sidelines of attempts to of any settlement.Russia in-
help find a political settle- to Iran’s Mideast rival Saudi expand his influence in a with Russia, which also vited over a dozen groups,
ment for Syria’s long-run- Arabia in recent weeks, region where the U.S. re- agreed to sell the Iranian ri- a mix of government repre-
ning civil war. Those efforts promising weapons deals mains the most dominant val its advanced S-400 mis- sentatives and political op-
are now led by Russia, in and other investments to military actor. sile system, which Tehran position parties, including
partnership with Iran and the Sunni power house. GULF CONTRACTS does not possess. Other for the first time the main
Turkey, organizing local Bilal Saab, a senior fellow Across the Gulf Arab states, deals would include Saudi U.S.-backed Kurdish party
cease-fires and creating and director of the De- the U.S. has been the guar- Arabia locally producing now in control of northern
“de-escalation zones” that fense and Security Pro- antor of security since the Russian anti-tank missiles, Syria. The Syrian Kurdish
have significantly reduced gram at the Middle East 1991 Gulf War. In recent rocket launchers and au- PYD has previously been
the violence in the coun- Institute, said that while years, however, Gulf coun- tomatic grenade launch- barred from participation
try. Russia’s role in Syria has Russia has clearly become tries have increasingly ers, as well as the latest in political negotiations at
raised its international pro- a more influential interlocu- looked toward making de- version of the Kalashnikov the Geneva Talks, at Tur-
file and allowed it to claim tor on Syria, there are clear fense deals with Russia, es- assault rifle. key’s insistence.
fighting terrorist groups limits to its overall foray into pecially after growing wary King Salman’s visit marked The invitation by Russia
such as the Islamic State the region. of the U.S. detente with Iran the first by any Saudi mon- has led to speculation that
group while it shored up “What Russia offers is trans- under President Barack arch to Moscow and her- Russia may use the confer-
President Bashar Assad’s actional, as opposed to Obama. In the last weeks alded a new era of co- ence to broker a wider rec-
government. strategic. Arms sales are no alone, Russia has gone big operation and a thawing onciliation between Assad
Moscow has stood by Teh- substitute for deep politi- into Saudi Arabia, which in a bilateral relation that and the Syrian Kurds under
ran while Trump has refused cal rapport, which is what supported the Afghan mu- has been severely strained conditions that preclude
to re-certify the nuclear Washington provides, de- jahedeen against Soviet since Russia’s military inter- long-term U.S. influence in
deal between Iran and spite lingering tensions with troops in the 1980s. vention in Syria on behalf Syria.q
Bin Laden’s thoughts unearthed in a hand-written journal

Associated Press liam Shakespeare’s home da’s thoughts and ideas,” day as part of a trove of The journal is titled, “Special
DUBAI, UAE (AP) — A jour- in Britain; of how quickly bin Laden is quoted as tell- material recovered dur- diaries for Abu Abdullah:
nal made public by the CIA turmoil had gripped the ing his family in the docu- ing the May 2011 raid that Sheikh Abdullah’s points of
and apparently handwrit- Middle East. ment. killed bin Laden, then took view — A session with the
ten by one of Osama bin The 228-page journal me- Bin Laden’s wife, referred to down the files, saying they family,” which refers to bin
Laden’s daughters offers a anders between discus- as Um Hamza, assures him were “temporarily unavail- Laden by his traditional Ar-
glimpse into how the late sions, thoughts and reflec- that a tape he released able pending resolution of abic name. The conversa-
al-Qaida leader viewed tions bin Laden shared with seven years earlier calling a technical issue.” tions took place between
the world around him and his family about how to ex- out the rulers of the region The journal appears to cov- February and April 2011,
reveals his deep interest in ploit the uprisings, what to as unfit could be one of the er conversations between with the journal entries dat-
the 2011 Arab Spring revo- make of the rapid changes major forces behind the bin Laden and his daugh- ed according to the Islamic
lutions that were unfolding unfolding in the Arab world Arab Spring protests roiling ters, Miriam and Somiya, his calendar.During that time,
in the months before a U.S. and when al-Qaida should the region. wife and his sons, Khaled uprisings in Tunisia and
raid killed him. speak out. The Associated Press exam- and Hamza — the latter of Egypt had ousted longtime
He talks about Libya be- “This chaos and the ab- ined a copy of the journal whom would go on to be- autocratic rulers, touching
coming a pathway for ji- sence of leadership in the uploaded by the Long War come a potential succes- off protests in Libya, Ye-
hadis to Europe; of his time revolutions is the best envi- Journal to its website. The sor to lead the group his men, Bahrain and Syria.
as a young teen visiting Wil- ronment to spread al-Qai- CIA released it on Wednes- father founded. Continued on Page 27