[vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]According to the Deputy Secretary of the OP of the Russian Federation, the harshest sanctions should be applied against IS and all financial flows should be blocked.
On April 28, 2015, at a meeting of the Russian Public Council for International Cooperation and Public Diplomacy they talked about the current problems of statehood in the Middle East.
Deputy Secretary of the Public Chamber Sergei Ordzhonikidze explained that the decision to focus the discussion on this topic was dictated by the recent events in Yemen: “It is necessary to stop any use of force and prevent open confrontation between Sunnis and Shiites.
“Given the difficult situation in the Middle East, it’s time to talk about the phenomenon of ISIS,” the OP member continued.
According to him, ISIS (now just IS – “Islamic State”) is a flexible and viable structure, which is based on an ideology accessible to the general population.
“In essence, it is an ideology of defending Muslims from Western pressure, which many have grown tired of,” Ordzhonikidze stressed. – If they want to live in opposition to Western civilization, that is their right, but they should not create problems for other countries and act as an aggressor.”
He also noted that IS is the most influential and financially secure terrorist group, which receives huge funds from illegal oil sales, slave trade, racketeering, drug trafficking, robbery and so on.
“Of course, this group must be countered, but this counteraction must not be one-sided and manifested in the way the U.S. is doing it by striking areas of Syria, a sovereign state that has not given its consent,” Ordzhonikidze stressed. – It leads to global chaos and is a continuation of the U.S. policy of toppling the regime of Bashar Assad, and suggests that the interests of the United States are not to extinguish, but to foment a large-scale conflict in the region.
According to him, this has already led to a huge flow of refugees to Europe, including both criminals and terrorists.
In turn, President of the Middle East Institute Yevgeny Satanovsky stressed that IS has already created a transnational network for the transfer of fighters, which poses a huge threat to Russia as well.
“About 2,000 fighters from Russia are already fighting on the side of IS, and there are many times more from Central Asia. At the same time, a certain percentage of them have previously taken Russian citizenship,” Satanovsky continued. – The work of infiltration of terrorists in the Russian Federation has been going on for a long time already, so the process has already started from within.
Sergei Ordzhonikidze suggested that they first of all try to restore the central government in Iraq and settle the conflict in Syria.
According to him, it is necessary to apply “the toughest sanctions and block financial flows, completely isolating IS from the international banking system and establishing international control of oil sales” against IS.
“When it comes to Russia, sophisticated sanctions are applied to it, seriously hitting our economy, but to apply similar measures against terrorists from the Islamic State for some reason our partners have no special desire,” he stressed, adding that the IS cannot be dealt with until Western and Eastern countries coordinate their actions in eliminating this threat.
Press Service of Russian Public Chamber
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