The 12th annual Valdai Discussion Club meeting in Russia's Sochi has focused on international armed conflicts. Russian President Vladimir Putin is taking part in its final plenary session devoted to the crisis in the Middle East.
22 October 2015
Russia’s presence in Syria is conscious, unlike the propagandistic actions of the US-led coalition, which has done nothing significant, Speaker of the Iranian parliament Ali Larijani said at the final plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club. “Russian actions are a serious warning to terrorists,” he said.
Larijani also praised the role Russia is playing in the region, calling it “effective and responsible.”“We thank Russia for its constructive role in Iranian nuclear program talks. If you remember, formula ‘5+1’ was a Russian initiative,” he said.
Putin said the rouble rate has stabilised despite continuing oil price fluctuations.
"The national currency is subject to certain market fluctuations related to the oil price but, still, it has already stabilised," he said.
Putin said the future of Syria must be decided by the Syrians – both the government and opposition forces.
“We must be sure that the government is formed on the basis of transparent democratic procedures. And we can talk about some international oversight over these procedures, including over the elections process. But it must be an objective oversight – and what’s most important is that it shouldn’t be biased towards some countries.”
Syrian President Bashar Assad has agreed with the possibility of Russia offering support to the Syrian opposition in their fight against ISIS, Putin said.
"I've asked [Assad]: What would you say if we support the opposition's efforts in their fight against terrorists the way we support the Syrian Army? And he said: My attitude is positive," the Russian leader told the Valdai forum.
Russia has no plans to expand its anti-terror operation in Syria to Iraq, Putin said. The possibility of airstrikes targeting Islamic State in Iraq is not being discussed, as Baghdad has not put forward such a request, the Russian president added.
There can be no "moderate" terrorists, President Putin said, speaking about the situation in the Middle East at the Valdai discussion forum.
"Why play with words dividing terrorists into moderate and not moderate. What's the difference?" Putin told the forum.
READ MORE: Putin: No need to distinguish between ‘moderate’ & other terrorists
Most politicians have become more cautious about interventions, Wolfgang Schüssel, former Austrian Chancellor, told RT on the sidelines of the Valdai Discussion Club. “That is good news because we know the results in Iraq and Libya are not very convincing,” he said.
He also pointed out the necessity of closer cooperation between Russia and the West on Syria and other common problems. “Better communication is the key issue. We have still distrust – that is not good,” Schüssel said.
The head of the Presidential Administration has stressed that the ground operation in Syria is going to be conducted by the regular Syrian army and the Kurdish self-defense forces.
“No matter how many of them, the airstrikes alone cannot win without a ground operation,” Ivanov told journalists at the Valdai forum.
He added that it is not only Islamic State that is being dealt with in Syria, where “global terrorism is vividly exposed.” As an example, Ivanov cited West Africa’s Boko Haram terrorist group, a unit of which has recently joined the terrorists in Syria.
“The point is we’re not after [global] leadership, satisfying ambitions and filling the air with words. Our actions are guided solely by our national interests. When we see a direct and imminent threat to them – and we have resources – we take a definite stand on that,” Sergey Ivanov said.
The ongoing Palestinian uprising and the Israeli oppressive policies towards the Palestinians are being discussed at Valdai forum, says Mustafa Barghouti, general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative.
Countries like Russia, China, South Africa and Europe should have more important role in political efforts [towards the Palestinian cause], because “the monopoly of the US, the so-called peace process, did not help,” he told RT.
Timothy Colton, professor and chairman at department of Government of the Harvard University, believes that economic entities like BRICS are in the center of discussion as the situation in the world changes.
“One of the ironies of globalization is that it actually strengthened forces for regional integration,” Colton said.
According to Colton, the BRICS is worth watching because its members are China, world’s biggest population country, India, world’s largest democracy and Russia, world’s largest country, presiding this year in the BRICS.
Former German diplomat Hanz-Friedrich von Ploetz says the Syrian crisis is one of the main discussion issues of the forum, recalling Russia’s efforts in eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile and Moscow’s assistance in reaching a nuclear deal with Iran.
“I think there is no disagreement between Western countries and Russia that ISIS (Islamic State) is a very serious challenge for international security, a common enemy, if you wish,” von Ploetz told RT, stressing that it is still unclear what aims Russia’s operation in Syria is pursuing.
“We will see whether this move helps or does not help,” the former diplomat said.
“There has to be a moment when parties to the [Syrian] conflict sit down at a table,” von Ploetz said.
The policy of isolating Russia has failed, the head of the Presidential Administration, Sergey Ivanov, told journalists.
Sergey Ivanov, the head of Russia’s Presidential Administration, hopes that talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry will be a step toward the creation of a coalition against Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL). “We hope that the talks between Lavrov and Kerry tomorrow will be a further step in that direction,” he said, TASS news agency reported.
President Putin is to join the Valdai forum session at 4pm (13:00 GMT). He is expected to deliver his views on the world affairs.
“This year's theme of ‘War and Peace’ is rather timely I'd say,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted.
Established in 2004, the Valdai International Discussion Club has brought together over 900 experts of the global scholar community from 62 countries over the past 11 years. Participants traditionally meet with the Russian president and top policymakers. This year the meeting is attended by some 130 experts, nearly 90 of them have come from abroad.