CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VI (1) Contemporary-Eurasia-VI-1-engl | Page 125

CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VI (1)
Gor Gevorgyan spoke about the formation of the new
correlation of forces and the role of Egypt in the Middle East. In
spite of the crisis after the Egyptian revolution, the country has
maintained its leading positions in the Arab world. He outlined the
importance of contacts between Cairo and Tehran in overcoming
the Syrian crisis. G. Gevorgyan said, that the position of Egypt
coincides with the ones of Iran and Russia in terms of maintaining
Syria's territorial integrity.
Gevorgyan stated that a new portrait of the Middle East is under
formation with old actors and new challenges. He outlined some
points of that portrait – the renaissance of Egypt, a renewed
Turkey, which profited from the process and is pushing or pushed
forward its policy of Neo-Ottomanism. Iran also expanded its
influence in the region.
Ararat Kostanyan’s report addressed Al-Nusra Front, a radical
Islamic group, which controls territories in Idlib province of Syria.
Kostanyan stressed out the importance of the liberation of Deir ez-
Zor province as more than 40% of Syria's oil reserves are
concentrated there. The researcher supposed that the defeat of
Daesh does not mean the end of war in Syria as Al-Nusra Front and
Kurdish forces keep controlling vast territories in the north of
Syria.
125