Opinion: Middle East is hot spot that attracts attention of whole world

The escalated conflict in the Middle East has a potential to provoke very serious geopolitical changes and an economic crisis – as noted by Aleksandr Osenko, the Director General of Stolichnoye TV JSC, in his talk with Alfa Radio

Speculating on whether the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will result in an increased unrest in Europe, the expert noted, “Definitely, it will affect Europe. Recession broke out in Europe after the Six-Day War, when the Arab countries – that own large volumes of hydrocarbons – stopped selling them to the West [in 1967]. This is an economic aspect. As regards protest moods, we can see that Arabs are already staging protests against Western support for Israel in Germany and England. We’ll see how events will develop further in the Middle East, which may once again flare up like a powder keg. It will certainly strongly affect Europe, and can have an impact on all of us as well, since it is unclear how the Western support for Ukraine will develop. No wonder Zelenskyy has met with NATO states’ representatives, asking for help. The United States seems to announce support for both Israel and Ukraine, but we will see how the relevant decisions will be made and implemented in practice.”

Commenting on whether the escalated Palestinian-Israeli confrontation has overshadowed the conflict in Ukraine at least in terms of information, Mr. Osenko stressed, “Everyone understands perfectly well that hostilities in the Middle East will cause more damage to the entire world, to the global economy than the situation that is happening in Ukraine. It is clear that the West has chosen the policy of fighting until the last Ukrainian in order to weaken Russia, while the conflict in the Middle East will involve a lot of countries. Speaking of hydrocarbons, for example, the cost of a barrel of oil may jump up to $150. This will definitely hit the whole world, and an economic recession will follow. Of course, everyone will face difficulties, and Ukraine will be displaced to the background – staying somewhere in a shadow. Everyone will start thinking exclusively about their well-being. No wonder the United States has already sent two strike aircraft carriers there... It uses the norms of international law purely for its own purposes. The Middle East is a very hot spot that has attracted the attention of the entire world community.”