With the US at the centre of everything, it was much more difficult for Arab states to find their own balance autonomously and take decisions independent of Washington’s priorities. A number of Arab states have become pawns in this game but otherwise seem to have had little ability until now to affect outcomes. Russia is not the USSR and its activities in the Middle East have been mostly characterised by opportunism. However, more alarmingly for these Arab states, their pervasive insignificance in foreign affairs has domestic repercussions. Michael Young is editor of Diwan, the blog of the Carnegie Middle East programme, in Beirut

Source: Libya Today January 08, 2020 08:26 UTC