Russia, Europe, Iran and the Region

04 December 2016

By Tariq Alhomayed

Since electing the U.S. Donald Trump, Europe has been in worry due to his electoral statements on the relation with Russia and him praising the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The simplest evidence over these concerns is the urgent conference called for by the European foreign ministries to discuss Trump victory consequences.

The European concern became clearer when the British foreign minister apologized for not attending the conference. A British official told The Financial Times that such a meeting is usually held to comment over a coup, a terrorist attack, an earthquake or any other disaster. ''However what happened in the U.S. is a democratic elections,'' continued the official.

The European concerns are due to the vague stances of Trump towards Europe on the military and economic levels, whether in the NATO or other signed agreements. Another reason is Trump stance towards Russia and Putin.

The statements of the U.S. President Barack Obama also made these concerns appear to the surface. He warned Trump of signing agreements with Russia ''if these agreements were going to harm the people, violate international rules or leave the small countries in risk of attacks.'' Obama called on Trump to directly discuss with Russia topics such as: Ukraine and Syria.

European concerns of Trump relation with the Russians is now a matter of fact—Europeans fear that they will be victims of this relation despite Europe's military and economic strength.

The question here is, why do Europeans have the right to express worry of the Russia potential role in Europe while the Arab warnings of the Iranian dangerous expansion in our region were being neglected by the U.S., Obama and Europe?

It's surprising how Europeans are worried of a possible Russian role, while the West and Obama disregard the Iranian destruction in our region.

Throughout the past eight years, the U.S. President has overlooked the Iranian damage; not only in the region but also against the Iranians themselves.

Why are Europeans allowed to fear the Russian role but our region has no right to fear the Iranians' role?

Tariq Alhomayed is the former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat. Mr. Alhomyed has been a guest analyst and commentator on numerous news and current affair programs, and during his distinguished career has held numerous positions at Asharq Al-Awsat, amongst other newspapers. Notably, he was the first journalist to interview Osama Bin Ladin's mother. Mr. Alhomayed holds a bachelor's degree in media studies from King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. He is based in London. 

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