Following the success of the GPTT’s first international conference on the West Asia regional order after October 7, 2023, which was held last November, the think tank’s International Department convened the second international online conference on March 14-15, seeking the role of global actors in the Gaza crisis and the day after. Several experts from different countries, including the UK, China, Russia, Turkey, and Iran.

Turkey intends to keep its role minor and marginal

Prof. Hüseyin Bağcı, a professor of International Relations at Turkey’s Middle East Technical University emphasized that while Ankara supports the termination of the war in Gaza, the role of Turkey in the crisis has intentionally been a minor and marginal one since the majority of Turkish people view the crisis as an “Arab-Israeli problem” that does not involve Turkey. He highlighted Ankara’s criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies rather than Israeli overall policies as Netanyahu’s government is losing its legitimacy globally, which can be harmful to the security of Israel.

Ukraine, not Gaza has caught Russia’s full attention

Dr. Fyodor Lukyanov, the chairman of Russia’s Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy clarified that his country has no plan for the day after the crisis and just observes the developments since its main concern is its ongoing war with Ukraine. Russia has maintained good relations with both sides of the conflict, however, its relative support of the Palestinians may push Israel toward joining the Western sanctions against Russia, which has not happened so far.

China avoids fueling US concerns over Beijing’s regional influence

Prof. Chuchu Zhung, an associate professor of International Relations at China’s Fudan University evaluated the role of her country solely as a subsidiary one and stated that China avoids taking sides or fueling US concerns over Beijing’s influence in West Asia. She emphasized that China’s main interests in the region are economic ones, which have been hurt greatly by Yemeni attacks in the Red Sea, and the US-British coalition’s bombing has only exacerbated the situation.

“The ultimate solution is ‘de-Zionization’”

Prof. David Miller, a non-resident senior research fellow at Istanbul Zaim University pointed out the recent developments in the EU countries in supporting Palestine, including the UK Foreign Secretary’s expressing the possibility of recognizing a Palestinian state and also Ireland and Spain’s more assertive stance in support of Palestine. However, he considers a more prominent role for SCO and BRICS countries and maintained that the ultimate solution is “de-Zionization” rather than the two-state solution, which is obviously unattainable.

The UN was “humiliated” due to its failure to stop the human tragedy in Gaza

Dr. Ali Asghar Soltanieh, a former Iranian ambassador to IAEA expressed his disappointment in the total failure of the UN to stop the Israeli mass murder which has led to the “unique human tragedy of the century,” and mentioned that the UN was humiliated since it was unable to stop the tragedy in Gaza. Dr. Soltanieh suggested that approving Palestine as a full member of the UN, reestablishing contributions to UNRWA, and sending humanitarian aid to Gaza are the most important steps that should be taken immediately.

The idea of bringing peace by pouring money and logistics into the region has failed

Prof. Igor Matveev, Full State Counsellor of the Russian Federation mentioned that October 7 and its aftermath revealed the failure of the American-Israeli paradigm of prioritizing money and the economy. The idea of bringing peace to the region by pouring a lot of money and logistics and initiating big projects did fail. However, according to him, a compromise between Hamas and Israel seems possible though it may take a relatively long time to achieve.

China makes efforts to prevent the crisis’s spillover into the region

Dr. Jin Liangxiang, a senior research fellow at China’s Shanghai Institutes for International Studies enumerated two priorities for Chinese policy toward the Gaza crisis: First, supporting the “legitimate” cause of the Palestinians, and second, ensuring, with Iran’s help, that the crisis would not spill over into the region. He mentioned some diplomatic and political support of Palestine provided by China in the UN and elsewhere. According to him, US politics has been taken hostage by Israeli lobbies, and EU politics in turn has been taken hostage by trans-Atlantic relations.

October 7 has completely destroyed the paradigm of Zionism

Alastair Crooke, a former British diplomat explained the social context in Israel and Palestine in which the October 7 operation took place. While recognizing that the Israeli society has moved to the far right, he emphasized that October 7 has completely destroyed the paradigm of Zionism. He maintained that the US and the EU have still adhered to the old “failed two-states solution” and ignore that now there are 780,000 settlers in Israel that no one, even the army can remove, and the Israeli government also has no such intention since it is aimed at establishing Israel in its whole “ancient land.”