Last February 24, the sword of Damocles which Moscow had been waving for months above kyiv fell. In reaction to the Russian invasion of its Ukrainian neighbour, the latter’s support quickly coordinated, showing exceptional unity in the face of the Kremlin. At first glance, it appears that the US-led camp has managed to rally its forces to isolate Moscow, through divisive diplomatic ties and economic sanctions.
But the limits of this block are quickly highlighted. Beyond Europe, North America and a few other countries, Westerners have failed to rally allies and strategic partners to adopt a firm line against Vladimir Putin. Especially among Arab countries.
“From the start, with the exception of Syria, which has declared its support for President Putin and his war against Ukraine, most Arab countries do not see this as a threat to their interests or as something that can benefit them. ”, says Randa Slim, researcher and director of the Conflict Resolution and Track II Dialogues Program at the Middle East Institute.
Pursuing a strategy of diversifying their alliances, many Middle Eastern states close to Washington have so far resisted US pressure to side with him. On the one hand, to avoid alienating Russia, whose role in the region has continued to grow in recent years. On the other, to assert their independence from an American ally who seems to be disinterested in their fate.
Giorgio Cafiero, founder and CEO of Gulf State Analytics [cabinet de conseil en gestion des risques]insists:
“From the perspective of most Arab capitals, it serves no strategic purpose to support NATO efforts to squeeze, humiliate and isolate Moscow.”
Russia, a key player in the region
Especially since Russia had previously strengthened its partnerships in
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For a long time the French-language daily in Beirut, born in 1971 from a merger between the east et The day, was the perfect illustration of the French-speaking and Christian “Lebanon of Dad” that the civil war would make fun of. The departure of the elites fleeing the violence of the war and the decline of the French language in the country of the Cedars should have dealt the blow of a club to this newspaper.
Fortunately, these dire predictions did not come true. Not only thanks to the return to the country in the 1990s of thousands of French-speaking families fleeing an Africa torn by wars or a Europe in the grip of the economic crisis, but thanks to a real editorial dynamism and the arrival of a new generation of journalists who use a lively and hard-hitting French without preciosity, trickery, or conspicuous self-censorship… And it is no exaggeration to affirm that The Orient-The Day is today the most interesting Lebanese daily and one of the best in the Arab world.
The daily’s website also testifies to this dynamism, since it is one of the few in the region to update its information several times a day. Admittedly, the old habits have not disappeared and the articles “of convenience” still occupy a small space, but this remains quite acceptable in the face of the distressing editorial decline of a certain Lebanese press. Even the worldly gossip of The Orient-The Day keep a second degree that can make us smile.
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