Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz made a proposal to sign a non-aggression agreement with the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf.

“With the support of the Prime Minister, I put forward a political initiative involving the signing of a non-aggression agreement with the Gulf countries,” Katz wrote on Twitter. “This historic step will put an end to the conflict and create conditions for civil cooperation in the period before the signing of peace agreements.”

According to the head of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, during meetings held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, he presented his plan to sign the corresponding agreement to the foreign ministers of several Arab countries and the US special representative at international negotiations, Jason Greenblatt.

“This pact will strengthen cooperation between Israel and the Gulf countries, whose common enemy is Iran. The document is not a peace treaty or an agreement on the establishment of full-fledged diplomatic relations, but it will allow the Gulf states to remove their own legal restrictions on cooperation with Israel and to simplify diplomatic and military interaction, ”the Israeli newspaper Hamodia quotes Katz.

According to the minister, the possibility of holding talks on this topic is being explored by a group of diplomats from Israel and the Persian Gulf.

According to the publication, the pact contains a clause on non-aggression, which each of the parties undertakes to comply. Also, in the event of an attack on one of the parties to the agreement, its signatories undertake not to render assistance to the attacking side. The document emphasizes that relations between the countries will be based on the principles of "friendly interaction" based on UN standards, and any disputes should be resolved through discussions or through the arbitration mechanism.

  • Foreign Ministry of Israel
  • © Wikimedia commons / Almog

With this agreement, Israel wants to create a security zone around itself, experts say. In particular, this view is held by a senior researcher at the Center for Post-Soviet Studies of IMEMO RAS named after EAT. Primakova Vladimir Avatkov.

“Historically, Israel has waged wars with various Arab countries. And Tel Aviv, perhaps, wants to create a security zone around itself amid the conflict with Palestine and the Syrian events, ”he said in an interview with RT.

A similar opinion is shared by professor at Moscow State University, an expert on the Middle East, Alexander Vavilov.

“With this proposal, Tel Aviv probably wants to show its peacefulness and desire to cooperate with Arab countries,” the analyst said in an interview with RT.

Against Iran

At the same time, experts doubted that this measure, even if it can be implemented, could lead to stability in the region, since Israel is a close ally of the United States, and Washington is interested in exacerbating the conflict with Tehran.

“In this case, it is not obvious in whose interests Tel Aviv acts, which maintains close cooperation with both Moscow and Washington. The US does not want stability in the region, but an escalation of conflicts. At the moment, the strongest confrontation in the Middle East is just between Israel and Iran, and the White House will continue to encourage the growth of this conflict, ”Avatkov said.

Putting such an initiative, experts say, Israel wants to create a "tool to put pressure on Iran." In addition, this agreement may be an attempt to prevent the participation of Arab states in the formation of a unified security system with Ankara, Tehran and Moscow.

In late September, Katz, speaking from the UN rostrum, criticized Tehran and called on the international community to support the policy of US President Donald Trump to exert maximum pressure on the Islamic republic.

According to him, the UN should declare the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (part of the Iranian armed forces) a terrorist organization, since the IRGC allegedly promotes "terrorism in the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and the world." Iran has repeatedly stated that such statements have no basis.

Vavilov emphasized that Israel still considers Iran a “main existential threat” to its security. In addition, the expert pointed out, Tel Aviv in the Iranian issue is moving in the wake of Washington, which is interested in exacerbating the conflict with the Iranians.

“Israel acts in complete coordination and coordination with the United States,” the analyst said.

According to Vavilov, with the help of the treaty, Israel wants to "unite and mobilize the Arab countries against Iran." At the same time, he doubted that these states would enter into an alliance with Tel Aviv.

"From scratch"

The Iranian issue remains extremely difficult, since there are many players involved in it, fk, Avatkov noted.

“On the one hand, Washington, which at this stage completely denies the opportunity to work with Iran and breaks all previous agreements. On the other, Russia, which supports the fulfillment of obligations under a nuclear deal. The third player is Europe, which is wavering, but on the whole is trying to find a compromise, since it is beneficial to it, ”the expert explained.

According to Avatkov, the confrontation around Iran in the coming years will not end.

“The conflict lines between Iran and Israel will intensify if these states themselves do not show goodwill. Intermediaries can play an important role in this matter. For example, Russia has already done a lot to break Tehran and Tel Aviv apart, ”said the analyst.

Vavilov shares this position and believes that the most promising solution to the conflict between the parties is Russia's proposal to create a single international body, which would include all the countries of the region.

“This would open up opportunities for dialogue with Iran. Observers may also be present at this institute: permanent members of the UN Security Council and regional associations, including the European Union, which is also interested in ensuring security in the region, ”the expert said.

On October 3, Russian President Vladimir Putin at a plenary meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club stated that a security and cooperation organization with the participation of Russia, China, the European Union, and the United States should be created from scratch in the Persian Gulf region. He recalled that in July Moscow introduced the concept of such a union.

“We propose to put aside the accumulated prejudices, mutual claims and, in fact, from scratch try to create an organization for security and cooperation in this region, which, in addition to the Gulf countries, could also include Russia, China, the United States, and the EU as observers, India, and other interested states, ”Putin said.

Vavilov calls this initiative of the Russian side “really feasible and productive,” in contrast to the proposal by the Israeli side to sign a non-aggression pact with Arab countries.