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Amr Moussa: US has lost initiative in the Middle East | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Former foreign minister and presidential candidate Amr Moussa speaks during an interview with Reuters in Cairo March 11, 2014. (REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih)


Former foreign minister and presidential candidate Amr Moussa speaks during an interview with Reuters in Cairo March 11, 2014. (REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih)

Former foreign minister and presidential candidate Amr Moussa speaks during an interview with Reuters in Cairo on March 11, 2014. (REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih)

Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Former Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said that US foreign policy has lost initiative in the Middle East due to public anger and lack of trust in Washington.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, the well-known Egyptian statesman said that recent tensions between the US and Russia over Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine will affect the political wrangling over the Syrian crisis.

“One cannot ignore the issue of trust in international politics, and so a country cannot trust another in one crisis and distrust it in another,” he said.

“Therefore, I do not think that Russia can retreat on the issue of Crimea or Syria, because this is an important role for the country.”

Amr Moussa, who has also served as foreign minister of Egyptian, said that in his view, Russia has been successful in taking the initiative in the Middle East. “Regardless of our agreement or disagreement with its policies, Russia has been able to form alliances with a number of states [in the region],” he said.

“As for the US, it is in a defensive position on all issues, whether we are talking about Crimea or Syria or other Middle East issues. US policy no longer enjoys a credit of trust or credibility it can build on. Washington has lost initiative and cannot restore it due to the accumulation of anger against its unfair policies in the Middle East,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Amr Moussa’s statements came as Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad said on Wednesday that Moscow had helped re-establish “a multipolar world.”

“The important role that Russia is playing on the international scene is today making a clear contribution towards drawing up a new map for a multipolar world,” Syrian state news agency SANA quoted Assad as saying.