Saudi Arabia and peace in the Middle East

In politics, conflict is the origin and peace is an exception or is a development from the original situation for various motives. Conflict is an instinct and peace is awareness and vision. The Middle East region has been a place of disputes and conflicts for centuries, narrated by history and recorded by its long journey, and these conflicts have intensified in recent decades.

In the twentieth century there is an intensification of history and its conflicts that have always developed into wars, growing and smaller, longer and shorter. The century began in the region with brutal and bitter Turkish colonization under the name of the “Ottoman Caliphate,” and the peoples of the region who knew its woes and crimes were not liberated from it until after the weakness of the Ottoman Empire and the beginning of the introduction of colonialism. The British and French Western influence extended to the region in the Maghreb, the Levant, and Egypt, and expanded to others.

After that came the stage of national liberation, and resistance movements to colonialism arose in many countries of the region, ending with the evacuation of the colonizers in varying stages, and with multiple challenges according to many data that differ from one country to another. Independence was completed and a Turkish state, an Iranian state, and Arab countries were established, and the Turkish state inherited the Ottoman caliphate. It strengthened a secular Turkish nationalism that was devoid of its minorities, and the Iranian state lived through an identity struggle between turbulent secularism and rising sectarianism, until it gained ground on the so-called “Islamic Revolution” and sectarianism blatantly triumphed.

In the Arab world, conflicts arose over the nature of the state in each country. There were monarchies and republics, and there was a strong wave of military coups that were called “revolutions” in line with the prevailing global discourse at the time after World War II between East and West, communism and capitalism, and the Arab countries were established on stable monarchies and republics. Military with conflicting nationalist discourses, and the conflict with Israel was one of the biggest slogans at the time, both Arab and regional.

Identity conflicts and state conflicts do not end with the stroke of a pen, nor do they suddenly disappear from history. Hence, a conflict has arisen in the region that has continued for decades between three major projects: a fundamentalist project for Turkey, which is searching for a return to its Ottoman colonial legacy and abandoning its secularism with a discourse that has not yet reached its end, and a sectarian project for Khomeini Iran. The two projects sought to target the Arab countries, which represent the third project, which is the Arab moderation project. The means for the two projects to penetrate the Arab countries was through groups, organizations, parties, and militias, until everyone reached the moment of what was known as the Arab Spring.

In that fateful spring, the will of the two anti-Arab projects combined with a Western will to strike the Arab countries and support the seizure of power by fundamentalist groups in them. However, this joint will, even if it triumphed temporarily by spreading “stability of chaos” and overthrowing some Arab republican regimes, was defeated in the end, and Ghalib returned. Arab countries to achieve political stability, although that return has not yet been completed in some countries.

This is an extensive review of what took place in the last hundred years of conflicts and conflicts that manifested themselves in wars of many different shapes and colours, and were accompanied by discourses of varying cohesion, spread and influence, and conflicting ideologies that expressed its intensity and contradictions, intertwining in its ancient, inherited structure with the global influences and partisan interests of each trend, until We have arrived at the present moment.

Today, more than ever before, the possibility of peace is greater than conflict, and peace here is greater than the idea of peace with Israel alone. Rather, it is the idea of peace between the countries of the entire region and their projects and directions. Saudi Arabia, with its size, status and influence, has led this new trend through the vision of Crown Prince Mohammed. Bin Salman, which has become clear to everyone. In many of his ambitions and hopes, he proceeds with a coherent logic and steady steps, starting with Saudi Arabia as a center, then the region regionally, then the world internationally, and the examples are many.

Two expressive examples in this context. The Prince started the “Green Riyadh” project, then developed it into “Green Saudi Arabia,” then moved it to the “Green Middle East,” which is part of his grand vision for the environment and climate in general, as well as the “Economic Corridor” project between India, Saudi Arabia, and Europe. It is A manifestation of his vision published years ago, which sees his country as a link between the three continents. Asia, Africa, and Europe, and the rest of the issues can be measured against this.

Whoever can think about resolving the conflicts of centuries and the extremely complex, intertwined and overlapping conflicts of the past decades is the one who has a future vision capable of transcending, and this is what has happened on the ground in the past few years. The economy has become a priority for all countries in the region, willingly or by necessity, and the interests of consensus, understanding and coexistence have become greater. With many consequences of conflict and struggle for all parties, hence the restoration of warmth in relations with Turkey, the agreement with Iran came under Chinese sponsorship, the involvement of India in major projects came, and talk of peace with Israel came out.

Without the agreement with Iran, it would not have been easy to calm the situation in Iraq, nor constructive communication to end the Yemen crisis, nor return Syria to the Arab League, nor return Lebanon to its normal, small and ineffective status in the region, and without setting economic priorities, commercial interests, and international partnerships, and that the region would be “the new Europe.” “When it was possible to talk about peace.

Saudi Arabia’s demands from Israel and America towards developing a real peace with Israel are declared and legitimate, and can be well understood by all parties. The new Saudi Arabia that is changing the face of the region and the world no longer needs anyone to test its seriousness and influence. The matter has become clear to everyone, and it is ready for all understandings that can be built to achieve it. Major goals, but in return all parties must respond to their declared and legitimate demands, as a lame peace cannot continue in the future.

The Palestinian demands fall within the Saudi demands, and they were previously part of the “Arab Initiative” presented by Saudi Arabia and approved by the Arab countries. Peace with Saudi Arabia is the true end to what has been known for decades as the Arab-Israeli conflict, and Saudi Arabia, with its own strength, its Arab and regional alliances, and its enormous Islamic influence, is capable of drawing this plan. The end, which, if it occurs, will be “the greatest historical agreement since the Cold War,” according to the Saudi Crown Prince’s words in his recent interview with the American Fox News channel.

Finally, everything has a price. Peace has a price, conflicts and wars have prices, and binding agreements are part of peace. Peace is difficult, but it has a good outcome. In agreement with Asharq Al-Awsat