Oleksiy Volovych
The Military-Political and Economic Situation in February 2019
In February 2019, the military-political situation in the Middle East and North Africa was traditionally tense. This time, we offer our readers an analytical review of different international political consultations on the Middle East issues that took place last month, as well as an overview of the events and processes in Syria, Turkey, Israel, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Algeria, although events and processes in other countries of the region were not less important. But then, the Great Middle East is immense, with almost 25 countries.
Political consultations on the Middle East
February 13–14, an international “The Ministerial to Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East” with the participation of representatives from almost 60 countries was held in Warsaw. Representatives from all over the world were invited to participate. Representatives of Russia, China, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon did not participate in the event. The participants of the Conference exchanged points of view on the situation in the Middle East and discussed prospects for peace in the region. The main focus was on the need for close transatlantic cooperation to address the humanitarian crisis and the problem of refugees, counteracting the risks of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cybernetic threats, the fight against terrorism and organized crime. In his speech, Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin called on the participants of the Conference to work closely together to counter the challenges and hybrid threats Russia poses to the democratic world. In the opinion of the author of these lines, the Ukrainian side's approach to the Conference was formulated quite aptly by P. Klimkin: “The Ministerial Conference on the Middle East in Warsaw is not against something or someone. It is definitely “for”. For developing a common Middle East strategy for the whole civilized world”.
