The power troika trumps Biden in West Asia — Pepe Escobar

The Tehran summit uniting Iran-Russia-Turkey was a fascinating affair in more ways than one. Ostensibly about the Astana peace process in Syria, launched in 2017, the summit joint statement duly noted that Iran, Russia and (recently rebranded) Turkiye will continue, “cooperating to eliminate terrorists” in Syria and “won’t accept new facts in Syria in the name of defeating terrorism.”

That’s a wholesale rejection of the “war on terror” exceptionalist unipolarity that once ruled West Asia.

Standing up to the global sheriff

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his own speech, was even more explicit. He stressed “specific steps to promote the intra-Syrian inclusive political dialogue” and most of called a spade a spade: “The western states led by the US are strongly encouraging separatist sentiment in some areas of the country and plundering its natural resources with a view to ultimately pulling the Syrian state apart.”

So there will be “extra steps in our trilateral format” aimed at “stabilizing the situation in those areas” and crucially, “returning control to the legitimate government of Syria.” For better or for worse, the days of imperial plunder will be over....

Speaking for the Global East and South, the troika put neoliberalism, neo-imperialism, and neocolonialism on notice that the world will no longer be run in the interest of "the golden billion." Them's fightin' words, and the fights are already in progress in Syria and Ukraine and likely soon in the South China Sea and Taiwan.

The Cradle
The power troika trumps Biden in West Asia

Pepe Escobar

https://thecradle.co/Article/Columns/13301