Russian Federation Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, delivering the opening speech, said Russia was in touch with Syrian rebels and wanted to arrange a meeting between it and the Damascus administration, but added that the Syrian opposition had stipulated that Bashar al-Assad must go. Russia is quite frustrated with the Arab Spring process and claims it has no economic or political interest in the Middle East, particularly Syria, but that it is just seeking peace and stability in the region. Russia has further asserted that it has much experience in settling clashes that arose within the borders of the former Soviet Union and that its experience should be made use of in dealing with the conflicts in the Middle East.
Former Russian ambassador to Tunisia Veniamin Popov pointed out at the conference that the Russian Federation is not like China, in that its foreign trade with countries in the region is very low. Popov's assessment has its merits, of course. Like the Middle Eastern countries, the Russian Federation is a major producer of oil and natural gas. Moreover, countries in the Middle East, like Russia, have import-based, rather than production-centered, economies. Yet, it should be noted that there are many Russian energy companies, particularly in Iraq.
Meanwhile, Professor Vitaly Naumkin, a leading Russian expert on the Middle East, suggested at the conference that the countries in the Middle East, Turkey, Iran and the Russian Federation should find a solution together for the Syrian crisis. He ruled out an intervention from non-regional countries and formations -- the US and the EU. Naumkin pointed out that the West has double standards and that the Gulf countries, too, lack democracy. Bogdanov reiterated Russia's typical discourse at the Valdai forum, emphasizing that there are terrorist groups in Syria that are destroying stability in the country and that every state is entitled to combat terrorism. Bogdanov argued that the Syrian opposition must distinguish themselves from the armed groups. Interestingly, however, Bogdanov chose to define these armed groups as “guerrilla groups.”
The Turkish model also saw a heated discussed at the forum and was defined as a governance model that ensures the protection of democratic rights and freedoms as well as the changing of governments via free and transparent elections in a country with a dominantly Muslim population. The likelihood of this model being adopted by Middle Eastern countries successfully was discussed. It was also noted that Islam-oriented political parties had emerged stronger from the Arab Spring and that they had even won elections in North African countries. This was the first time these parties had taken office via legitimate means and democratic elections. A consensus was also made at the forum that these parties would pursue more rational and logical policies during their time in office and that Arab people had voted for Islam-oriented parties not to secure a place in Paradise but to live in a freer and more prosperous country. In light of this, participants at the conference suggested that democratic freedoms should be ensured and urgent solutions found to address economic problems. It was further noted that with the Arab Spring, much uncertainty and various concerns had emerged as to the future of non-Muslim religious minorities in these countries. Everyone acknowledged that the winners and losers of the Arab Spring are still unknown.
The concluding dinner of the Valdai forum ended with an Adyghe -- a Western Circassian tribe that once dominated Sochi -- dance show.
Sochi, located on the Black Sea in the northwestern Caucasus, was dominated by the Ubykh people 148 years ago. In 1864, peoples in the North Caucasus lost a war against czarist Russia, and the remaining population was forced to migrate to other lands. Thus, all of the Ubykh people, and 90 percent of the Adyghe people, were forced to migrate to the Ottoman Empire in 1864. Ninety percent of the Abkhaz people were forced to do the same in 1878. It was significant to share the sorrows of the Middle East 148 years after that great tragedy, silently experienced by one generation after another, in the northwestern Caucasus.
