Poll finds that Arab street has no stance on Russia-Ukraine conflict

A woman walks past a heavily damaged residential building in the Saltivka district, northern Kharkiv. (AFP)
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Updated 31 May 2022
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Poll finds that Arab street has no stance on Russia-Ukraine conflict

  • Experts highlight that general Arab opinion might be echoing the perspectives of their respective governments
  • Among the Gulf states, 22 percent of respondents sided with Ukraine

LONDON: The majority of people in the Arab world have no stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a striking finding from a region that has been directly economically impacted by the war, a new Arab News-YouGov survey has found.

Out of 7,835 respondents from the Arab world, 66 percent did not have a view on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, compared with 18 percent who sided with Ukraine, and 16 percent who sided with Russia.

“When you talk about public opinion, it’s much more about everyday life, in that sense the conflict is further away, it’s further away than issues that are much more important and much more immediate,” Tobias Brock, associate fellow and Middle East expert at the Royal United Services Institute, told Arab News.

“The conflict is, first of all, geographically farther away than the war in Syria, or the conflict in Yemen, or the conflict in Libya or what is going on in Israel and Palestine right now,” he said.

Brock, with Jack Senogles, recently wrote a paper on the implications of the Russia-Ukraine war for countries in the MENA region. In their paper, the authors explain that “most Middle Eastern states have been so slow off the mark in formulating their positions vis-a-vis Russia and its war.”

Experts highlight that general Arab opinion might be echoing the perspectives of their respective governments, which also see the war as a European conflict.

The survey also reveals that the majority of respondents who sided with Russia came mainly from 4 out of 14 countries surveyed: Algeria (19 percent), Oman (19 percent), Qatar (19 percent) and Tunisia (18 percent).

Meanwhile in Jordan, respondents who did take a stand were divided equally (13 percent) between Russia and Ukraine.

Both Ukraine and Russia are among the top wheat exporters in the world (about 29 percent of global supply), and on which many countries in the Arab region depend. One would assume, for example, that Egyptians — who source 85 percent of their wheat from Russia and Ukraine combined — would be more opinionated about the conflict.

Among the Gulf states, 22 percent of respondents sided with Ukraine, compared with 15 percent with Russia. While the difference is somewhat insignificant, two Gulf states stand out for favoring Russia over Ukraine, namely Oman and Qatar, both with 19 percent of respondents favoring Russia.

Oman and Russia have enjoyed good bilateral relations, particularly in the past few years as Muscat seeks to diversify its relations with non-Western powers. Trade between both countries have also increased significantly, growing by 62 percent in 2018.

In early May, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Oman to discuss trade. The two countries have announced a wide package of bilateral agreements, including a mutual visa exemption program.

Much like other Arab states, Oman did not take a concrete stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict but affirmed its position that the two countries should reach political and diplomatic solutions through dialogue.

While state attitudes do not necessarily determine how the general public will side in a conflict, experts believe that sometimes public opinion mirrors state behavior, which might explain the slightly higher than average position of Oman on the Russia-Ukraine war.

 

 


Lebanese leaders indirectly urge Hezbollah to stay out of the Israel-Iran conflict

Updated 5 sec ago
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Lebanese leaders indirectly urge Hezbollah to stay out of the Israel-Iran conflict

  • Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged all sides in Lebanon to maintain calm and preserve the country’s stability
  • The Hezbollah-Israel war left over 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction worth $11 billion. In Israel, 127 people, including 80 soldiers, were killed during the war

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s president and prime minister said Monday that their country must stay out of the conflict between Israel and Iran because any engagement would be detrimental to the small nation engulfed in an economic crisis and struggling to recover from the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.
Their remarks amounted to a message to the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group — an ally of both Iran and the Palestinian militant Hamas group in Gaza — to stay out of the fray.
Hezbollah, which launched its own strikes on Israel a day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, has been hard-hit and suffered significant losses on the battlefield until a US-brokered ceasefire last November ended the 14 months of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.
Earlier this year, Hamas fighters inside Lebanon fired rockets from Lebanese soil, drawing Israeli airstrikes and leading to arrests of Hamas members by Lebanese authorities.
The Hezbollah-Israel war left over 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction worth $11 billion; Hezbollah was pushed away from areas bordering Israel in south Lebanon. In Israel, 127 people, including 80 soldiers, were killed during the war.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam spoke during a Cabinet meeting Monday that also discussed the Iran-Israel conflict and the spike in regional tensions over the past four days.
Information Minister Paul Morkos later told reporters that Aoun urged all sides in Lebanon to maintain calm and preserve the country’s stability. For his part, Salam said Lebanon should not be involved in “any form in the war,” Morkos added.
Hezbollah, funded and armed by Iran, has long been considered Tehran’s most powerful ally in the region but its latest war with Israel also saw much of Hezbollah’s political and military leadership killed in Israeli airstrikes.
Since Israel on Friday launched strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear program and top military leaders, drawing Iran’s retaliatory ballistic missiles at Israel, the back-and-forth has raised concerns that the region, already on edge over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, would be plunged into even greater upheaval.


First European commercial plane lands in Damascus airport in over a decade

Updated 10 min 50 sec ago
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First European commercial plane lands in Damascus airport in over a decade

  • Dan Air’s plane was carrying 138 passengers, including Syrians and foreign nationals
  • It announced flights from Damascus to Bucharest, the German cities of Frankfurt and Berlin, and the Swedish capital, Stockholm

LONDON: Damascus International Airport in the Syrian Arab Republic welcomed its first European commercial flight this week since the civil war began in 2011.

A European airline, Dan Air, landed in Damascus on Sunday after flying from Bucharest, the capital of Romania, the SANA news agency reported.

Mohammad Nidal Al-Shaar, the minister of economy and industry in Syria’s interim government, was on the plane that was received in Damascus by Radu Gimpostan, who led the Romanian Embassy’s delegation.

Dan Air’s plane carried 138 passengers, including Syrians and foreign nationals, and the return flight from Damascus to Bucharest would carry 125 passengers. The airline has announced flights from Damascus to Bucharest, the German cities of Frankfurt and Berlin, and the Swedish capital, Stockholm.

Syrian officials said that the flights would facilitate the mobility of travelers between Syria and Europe following more than a decade of interrupted aviation services.


Israeli forces evict Jenin families, convert homes into military outposts

Updated 16 June 2025
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Israeli forces evict Jenin families, convert homes into military outposts

  • Houses belonging to the Yaseen family were seized after about 50 people evicted
  • Soldiers ‘roaming the streets, firing live ammunition and tear gas, shutting down businesses and harassing residents,’ says Rummana council head

LONDON: Israeli forces in Jenin have evicted many Palestinian families and converted their homes into military outposts across several villages.

The Israeli activity took place across the occupied West Bank city over the past week.

Mohammad Issa, head of the Aneen village council in the west of Jenin, told Wafa news agency on Monday that Israeli troops stormed two homes belonging to the Yaseen family last Friday and forcibly evicted five families of about 50 people.

The homes were later utilized as military outposts while Israeli forces continued to raid Aneen village daily, deploying armored vehicles, erecting roadblocks and stopping-and-searching residents, Wafa added.

“The presence of soldiers inside residential homes has created a climate of fear and insecurity,” said Issa. “Commercial activity has slowed dramatically as a result.”

Hassan Sbeihat, head of the Rummana village council, told Wafa that Israeli forces had converted 11 homes in the elevated western part of the village into military positions over the last four days.

“Israeli infantry patrols are roaming the streets, firing live ammunition and tear gas, shutting down businesses and harassing residents,” Sbeihat said.

He added that families were forcibly displaced and sought shelter with relatives, with no clear sign of when they might return to their homes.

Aziz Zaid, head of the Nazlat al-Sheikh village council, said that Israeli forces evicted residents Wajdi Fadl Saeed Zaid and Omar Hassan Al-Bari from their homes, which were converted into outposts.

He added that the Israeli military continues to conduct house-to-house searches and physically assault residents, Wafa reported.

Zaid said that Israeli forces closed the village’s western entrance, blocked the main road and closed a pharmacy as well as grocery store.


Sultan of Oman, Iranian president discuss Israeli strikes, diplomatic solutions

Updated 16 June 2025
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Sultan of Oman, Iranian president discuss Israeli strikes, diplomatic solutions

  • President Masoud Pezeshkian says while Iran faces Israeli aggression, it supports diplomatic solutions
  • Sultan Haitham bin Tarik condemns damage caused by Israeli strikes on Iranian infrastructure and facilities

LONDON: Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman held a phone call on Monday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to offer condolences for the Iranian victims of Israeli airstrikes and discuss the latest developments.

Sultan Haitham condemned the damage caused by Israeli strikes to infrastructure and facilities, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured Iranian citizens. He stressed the need for de-escalation from both sides and called for negotiations and dialogue to prevent the ongoing conflict from deteriorating, the Oman News Agency reported.

He reaffirmed the Omani government’s commitment to activate diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis, prevent its escalation, and establish fair and just settlements that restore normalcy.

Pezeshkian said that while his country is facing Israeli aggression, it supports diplomatic solutions through dialogue and negotiation, emphasizing the importance of adhering to international law and respecting Iran’s sovereignty, the ONA added.


38 Palestinians killed in new shootings near food distribution centers, medics say

Updated 16 June 2025
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38 Palestinians killed in new shootings near food distribution centers, medics say

KHAN YOUNIS: Gaza’s Health Ministry says 38 Palestinians have been killed in new shootings in areas of food distribution centers in the south of the territory.
The toll Monday was the deadliest yet in the near-daily shootings that have taken place as thousands of Palestinians move through Israeli military-controlled areas to reach the food centers. Witnesses say Israeli troops open fire in an attempt to control the crowds.
There was no immediate comment by the Israeli military on Monday’s deaths. It has said in previous instances that troops fired warning shots at what it calls suspects approaching their positions.