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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 June 2000 Issue No. 486 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 June 2000 Issue No. 486
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters For old times' sake
By Abdel-Malek KhalilFor a long time Syria's staunchest ally, the former Soviet Union (and later Russia) was a key component of Syria's defence policy, channelling arms and ammunition to the so-called lion's den. The Russians and Syrians have also been traditional trading partners and coordinated politically in the international arena.
Notwithstanding these similarities, Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to show up at the late Syrian leader Hafez Al-Assad's funeral in Damascus on Tuesday. Officials in Moscow explained that Putin could not attend Assad's funeral as he was engaged in an official visit to Spain. He sent in his stead a high-powered delegation with a message for Syria's new leadership, to heed the lessons of Russia's recent experience in entering the global fabric.
However, in spite of the massive political and economic changes implemented since the fall of the Soviet Union, certain things have not changed. Russia is still bent on maintaining a centralised and powerful state, like Syria's. At his inauguration speech delivered on 7 May 2000, Putin laid stress on the need for a strong state.
Last Monday, in a widely pubiscised speech, Putin again said that Russians now know how difficult it has been to reform the economy and the social sphere and create democratic institutions. Presently, Syria stands at the crossroads, and even though it is difficult for the Syrians to draw inspiration from the post-Soviet Russian economic performance, a centrally-planned and centralised state like Syria must inevitably look closely at the experiences of countries like Russia that opened up their economies.
The leader of the delegation to Damascus, Speaker of the Russian Parliament, Gennady Seleznyov, is widely considered to be the fourth most powerful man in Putin's Russia. The Russian delegation included old Russian Middle East hands such as former Russian Premier Yevgeny Primakov who, as a fluent Arabic speaker and distinguished Arabist, has long enjoyed a special relationship with Arab countries, and in particular the revolutionary regime in Syria. The Russian delegation also included another veteran expert on Middle East affairs, the president of the North Ossetian autonomous republic of the Russian Federation, Alexander Tzasakho, who is also a prominent member of the Afro-Asian Solidarity Organisation and a former ambassador to Damascus.
Despite the fact that Putin failed to show at Assad's funeral, news of Assad's sudden death topped the Russian media headlines for several days. Putin's condolence message to the Syrian people was repeatedly broadcast on radio and television and was widely reported in the Russian press. ''Assad was a great friend to Russia. [Assad] was a seasoned politician and a prominent statesman. He was one of the age's most brilliant politicians,'' Putin said in his message. The media coverage also included reviews of Assad's life since taking office in Syria 30 years ago, and extensively reviewed the close military, political and economic ties between the two countries over the past three decades.
In a television interview former Russian Premier Primakov said that Assad was one of the greatest personalities in the Middle East since the 1960s, and that his death was a huge loss for the Syrian people as well as the entire Arab world. He reiterated what Putin had earlier stated. Assad was a special friend to Russia, he said, adding that Assad's principled political stance won him wide international respect.
The Russian media boasted that Moscow will continue to \"play a pivotal role\" in the Middle East. After all, Russia is a co-sponsor with the United States of the Middle East peace process. However, with the difficult economic situation in Russia and with the running sore of war in the breakaway republic of Chechnya, Russia's role as a key Middle East player has diminished sharply over the years.
Assad always toned down criticisms of his Russian allies during their bilateral contacts, which sharply contrasted with the position of the late Egyptian President Anwar El-Sadat who was known for his scathing attacks on the Kremlin. Thus, the Russians preserved strong ties with Syria despite the Arab charge that the Soviets did not do enough to support the Arab cause. The Soviets tried hard to get Syria to sign a cooperation and friendship treaty similar to those signed between the former Soviet Union and Iraq and Egypt but to no avail. Ironically, when Assad, after several years of procrastination, sought to conclude such a treaty with Russia, Moscow wavered. Nevertheless, the Soviet Union did finally agree to sign the friendship treaty with Syria, but by then the Soviet Union was in the throes of death.
