Azerbaijan, Baku, 15 January/corr. Trend A. Gasimova/ The visit of US President George Bush to the Near East will not solve the problems of the region. "In the Near East region there are a great deal of problems and confrontations that a visit from the American president will be unable to solve," the leading Russian expert on international affairs Mikhail Margelov said.
Bush has been on an eight-day visit to the Near East since 9 January and plans to end his visit on 16 January. His itinerary includes a visit to Israel, Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
The majority of problems in the Near East have originated as a result of activities of the current US administration, Margelov wrote to Trend by electronic mail on 15 January. "It was the current US administration that attached authority to Iran's independence and put Iraq to the verge of a split and with its connivance HAMAS won the parliamentary elections in Palestine while extremism and anti-modern tendencies strengthened in the region and therefore the chief purpose of the American President's visit is to redress these problems somehow," senator said.
Bush's visit to the Near East is, to a certain degree, as a populist and the US President did not utter any fundamental proposals promising to establish peace in the region, Margelov said.
"Even in Israel people assess Bush's tour as an attempt to support Abbas and Olmert who are in a painful situation and this idea probably simplifies the aims and tasks of the Republican administration in the Near East," expert said.
Bush visited Israel and the territory of Palestine National Administration for the first time since his seven-year presidency. The main purpose of the visit was to activate the regulation of the Palestine-Israel conflict.