West Asia coordinator for the Schiller Institute in Sweden, Hussein Askary, appeared on CGTN’s “Talk It Out” show with host Li Jingjing yesterday, and discussed the seismic significance of the Iran-Saudi Arabia deal negotiated by China. On March 6-10, talks were held in Beijing. Resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries will happen in two months. Askary declared:"This is the biggest positive development in the history of this region, at least since the invasion of Iraq in 2003…. If you want to talk about a game-changer in world politics, this is it. And also, this is an embodiment of what President Xi Jinping launched as the Global Security Initiative. And, also attached to that, is the combination of the Global Security initiative and the Belt and Road Initiative, all are combined now. And this gives hope for solving problems all over the world.”
Respect for the sovereignty of each party, and non-interference in the internal affairs of the countries; diplomacy as the only way to solve problems; and economic development as the key to securing such an agreement (no security without development, no development without security) are at the foundation of the successful negotiation. Askary reported that China’s State Councilor and top diplomat Wang Yi had said that this agreement sends a message to every nation in the world, that whatever the differences people have are, no matter how high level or intense the dispute is, you should sit down and talk. This clearly applies to Ukraine. Second, this sends the message that Southwest Asia (the “Middle East") should not be owned or controlled by any global power. The people that live here should decide their own fate. This is very important.
