Press review: NATO drills near Russia as Armenia keeps same policy after elections

MOSCOW, June 9. /TASS/. The US seeks to maintain its leading role in the Middle East settlement process; NATO kicks off a large-scale military exercise near Russia's border; and Armenia is likely to continue the same policy after parliamentary elections. These stories topped Tuesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.

Israel and Iran are on the brink of another full-scale clash, following days of limited but painful exchange of strikes, Izvestia notes.

Political analyst Dastan Tokoldoshev points out that the latest round of tensions in the Middle East may cause political damage to the United States as it seeks the role of the chief mediator between the opposing parties. "It is a set of not-so-fortunate circumstances that the current round of escalation comes at a time when the US is actively trying to settle its own disputes with Tehran and work out a permanent guarantee framework. In this regard, the rise in violence is at least troubling for Washington, which has faced a lot of both military and financial problems, along with domestic political issues, due to its involvement in the Iran gamble," the expert specified.

The situation remains uncertain. Despite US President Donald Trump’s promises to keep developments in the Middle East under control, tensions continue to escalate. Moreover, the parties to the conflict find it increasingly difficult to confine themselves to symbolic strikes, raising the risk of intensified hostilities. Under such circumstances, the US is faced with a choice: bring other influential mediators into the process and reduce its own contribution, or keep working alone and risk being left with no deal at all.

The latest round of confrontation between Iran and Israel provides Trump with the opportunity to increase pressure on Iran, Pavel Koshkin, senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for US and Canadian Studies, told Vedomosti. In the expert’s view, the situation is forcing Trump to abandon efforts to promote peace and opt for escalation. "It will now be more difficult for the US president to maintain balance," Koshkin stressed. According to him, the current developments highlight Trump’s limited ability to influence the course of the conflict and the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The US is ready to resume military operations but it is eager to avoid doing so, Alexey Yurk, researcher with the Center for Middle East Studies under the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World Economy and International Relations, believes. The expert regards a prolongation of the negotiat