Syrian Politician Believes Russia and China Could Mediate Conflict in Middle East
© AFP 2023
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ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) - Last Sunday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that it was vital to avoid any type of escalation which could lead to big confrontations in the Middle East.
China and Russia could act as mediators in the Middle East conflict along with some Arab countries, Tarek Ahmad, a member of the political bureau of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, told Sputnik on Tuesday.
"This conflict is very complicated, with a lot of actors to take into account: there is the Gaza problem, the Palestinian issue, Houthis, and Syria. It needs close meditation efforts from both Russia and China, and also Arab states, to bring America to a reasonable way of thinking," Ahmad stated.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel and breached the border, attacking both civilian neighborhoods and military bases. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages.
In turn, Yemen's Houthi rebels vowed in November 2023 to attack any ships associated with Israel until it halts military actions in Gaza, effectively blocking commercial navigation in the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Syria, engulfed in its own civil war since 2011, got caught in the crossfire after Israel launched a deadly airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria that killed seven members of the elite Revolutionary Guard Corps last week. Iran responded this past Saturday night by launching a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel, most of which were intercepted by Israeli and allied air defenses.
