MOSCOW, FEBRUARY 25, 2013. PIR PRESS – “One month from now, March 20, 2013, marks the 10th anniversary of the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. On the basis of questionable and, frequently, falsified data, the American government began a war in the Middle East that has since cost the world trillions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives, a war that has redrawn the geopolitical map in the region and caused a broad range of still-unsolved problems. Of course, we cannot blame journalists and experts for politicians’ decisions. However, applying a decade’s worth of experience to the realities of today, one can say that the fear mongering seen in the media cannot possibly facilitate finding a sensible, mutually-beneficial way out of the situation,” – Andrey Baklitsky, PIR Center Internet Project Director.

On February 26, 2013 Almaty will host the first since June 2012 meeting between Iran and the P5+1. Representatives from the Islamic republic, Russia, Great Britain, Germany, China, the USA and France will try to overcome the deadlock that has plagued the situation to one degree or another since 2005. Admittedly, experts don’t expect any sort of breakthroughs from the upcoming talks.

In an article in Russia in Global Affairs, PIR Center President Vladimir Orlov explains that the 5+1 format for the talks may have already run out of steam: “There are other efforts in the world that have a number of constructive ideas and that might be better heard in Tehran. Or for example, instead of the P5+1, talks could be held in the already-existing BRICS format. I won’t exclude that Russia and Turkey would likely have more fruitful negotiations with Iran; this group could be expanded to include Brazil, South Africa, and other authoritative figures in nonproliferation, including Kazakhstan, Indonesia, and maybe even Egypt (with a big question mark).”

Andrey Baklitsky, PIR Center Internet Project Director, writes in PIR Center’s blog (in Russian) about the dangers of media using hype to instill fear over Iran’s nuclear program: “One month from now, March 20, 2013, marks the 10th anniversary of the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. On the basis of questionable and, frequently, falsified data, the American government began a war in the Middle East that has since cost the world trillions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives, a war that has redrawn the geopolitical map in the region and caused a broad range of still-unsolved problems. Of course, we cannot blame journalists and experts for politicians’ decisions. However, applying a decade’s worth of experience to the realities of today, one can say that the fear mongering seen in the media cannot possibly facilitate finding a sensible, mutually-beneficial way out of the situation”.

PIR Center plays close attention to the event surrounding Iran’s nuclear program. For example, in the Fall-Winter 2012 issue of the Russian edition of Security Index journal, № 3-4 (102-103), Vitaly Tsygichko, Chief Research Fellow at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for System Analysis, wrote an article on “U.S. Military Operation Against Iran: Possible Scenarios and Their Consequences (in Russian).”

For comments from PIR Center experts, please contact Andrey Baklitsky by phone: +7 (495) 987-19-15 or e-mail: baklitsky at pircenter.org