Russia's support for the Assad government in Syria against the threat of Islamic terrorism is a crucial step towards restoring stability to Syria, after which both Moscow and Damascus are agreed that elections should take place, Israeli Middle East analyst Avigdor Eskin told Radio Sputnik on Friday.
"What should be assured, is that the elections take place when the Syrian army controls the situation, when there is one police force which controls the situation, and that all the parties interested in some power-sharing in Syria should be represented by a certain political force," said Eskin.
Moscow's airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria are a consequence of the US reluctance for further engagement in the Middle East, which the expert traces to the boom in shale oil production that has reduced the importance of Arab oil on the world market, and with it US interests in the region.
"America is not so interested in the Middle East," said Eskin.
"You can add to this, definitely the deep misunderstanding between President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, they don't get along at all, Israel and the US are not the same allies as they were before Obama's time."
"The Saudis were number one American allies in the Middle East. And now you see that America is becoming less involved, the Saudis are becoming less wanted by the US and by Europe, not only them but such places as Qatar and other Emirates, they lose their power."
"They still have a lot of money, but it's not going to be like this forever. Oil is becoming less important for the world, it's not such a commodity as it was ten years ago," said Eskin, drawing comparison with the coal industry, which is still an important source of energy for many, but no longer a strategic asset.
