The influence of the “Islamic State” (ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) is exaggerated, because obviously, they are not so big and powerful as they tend to be, Alexander Nekrassov, Russian international political commentator and former Senior Advisor to the Kremlin told Eurasia Diary editor-in-chief Malik Ayub Sumbal in an exclusive interview.
But the world media as usual gives it a much more powerful profile than it really is, the expert said, adding that it creates panic everywhere including in the US, UK, France and so on.
The second, the IS is supported by so many individuals or even groups of individuals and countries that it is ridiculous to say that this organization can be destroyed as long as it gets so much funding and arms from abroad, according to Nekrassov.
He pointed out that Ukrainian army is secretly selling arms to IS or at least people who pretend to be IS, it is very complicated word now.
“This is the main problem at the moment. Until this is resolved, nothing is going to happen,” he said.
They can sign as many agreements as they want about fighting the IS, but if they do not do anything specific about it, all these agreements are technically useless, Nekrassov added.
Thirdly, the problem is that there is no common policy towards Syria, he said.
It has not been developed, there are disagreements and the latest UN resolution on Syria is meaningless, because there are so many contradictions between countries, the major players, that nothing will change until they are sorted out, said the expert.
It is not the question of removing Syrian President Bashar al-Asad at the moment, he said. “It is the question of avoiding another Libya. Who will be in charge in Damascus is not an issue because it is just does not matter.”
Nekrassov said that the reason why the US and Saudi Arabia are playing this game is that they just want to extend this conflict for as long as possible until they get the best arrangement for themselves.
“This problem will continue on and on and the UN, of course, is a useless instrument for that sort of a crisis,” said the expert.
Nekrassov doesn’t hope for the crisis to be resolved until there is a group of neutral countries that have nothing to gain from changing things in Syria.
Further, the expert said that the “Islamic State” is not a proper name for a terrorist group.
“I personally think that this is a very wrong title for them, because they chose it to legitimize and politicize themselves,” said Nekrassov.
They are really in need of politicizing and making them look as if they are a religious movement, but basically, they are gangs for hire, murderers that have nothing to do but fight for power, influence, money and so on, according to the expert.
Nekrassov said it is quite remarkable that the IS is the first terrorist group where every member gets a salary. “I have never ever known a terrorist group that had a salary,” he said, adding that the salaries are fixed and if they have a family and they are married, then it is doubled.
Talking about the source of income of the IS, Nekrassov said that this organization controls quite a large territory where they can take money from the people.
The expert reminded that during the G20 summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that in one or another way, 40 countries are involved in funding the IS.
“I don’t think the oil sales are the major. It is too difficult and too many people would be reluctant with that kind of merchandize,” he said. “I think that it is just direct donations.”
Moreover, Nekrassov pointed out that money laundering now has become very easy with online banking and business, with loan sharking becoming legalized in western countries.
The expert forecasts that the there will be more criminal and terrorist groups that will have huge amount of money in their disposal until the banking sector is reformed, until the internet is radically reformed as well.
“It is just a world of endless opportunities right now for the groups like the IS,” he added.
