(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Russia and the United States appear to be joining forces to tackle challenges which plague the Middle East (including the Islamic State and the Syrian civil war), the Star newspaper reported.
Recent developments suggest that "American and Russian officials decided to get to work [in the Middle East]. Some of them will handle matters with Saudi Arabia, others will deal with Iran. Predicting what comes next is not difficult. European countries are likely to remain on the sidelines. Then (like in Eastern Europe) the US and Russia will test their spheres of influence and agree on a mutually beneficial arrangement. After that the two powers will reduce the tensions [in the region]," the Turkish daily observed.
The work is already underway. In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested creating an international coalition to tackle terrorism in Syria since the US-led efforts were not bearing fruit. Russia discussed the initiative with Syria, other interested parties in the Middle East, as well as the US.
In late August, US Special Envoy for Syria Michael Ratney talked the ongoing conflict in Syria over with Russian diplomats during a short visit to Moscow. Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the situation in Syria and the campaign against the Islamic State in a phone conversation with his US counterpart John Kerry.
Moscow has been also providing humanitarian aid to the war-torn country, as well as equipment, training and weaponry. Meanwhile, "the United States are engaged in talks with Saudi Arabia. The role of the oil kingdom in the Syrian conflict is not exactly unknown," the daily added.
Syria has been trying to end an insurgency, which is estimated to have left over 230,000 killed, since early 2011. The country's government is fighting a number of rebel groups as well as radical militant organizations, including the Islamic State and al-Nusra Front.
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