Доброе утро, мои уважаемые подписчики. Вас приветствует постоянный ведущий крупнейшей в мире политической рассылки на русском языке Национальная и государственная безопасность кандидат политических наук, научный сотрудник Института мировой экономики и международных отношений Российской академии наук Игорь Игоревич Хохлов.

В последние две недели я много выступал на англоязычных телеканалах по поводу волны революций в арабских странах и, в частности, ситуации в Ливии.

Russian political expert Igor Khokhlov comments on the influence of Al-Qaeda in Libya

A political expert from the Moscow-based Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Igor Khokhlov, points out that the influence of Al-Qaeda and jihadist networks all over the Muslim world should not be underestimated.

"Now when we have revolutions rolling over the Arab world, one country after another, some of those countries are pretty rich in mineral resources, oil and gas and of course have cash - they are a top target for Al-Qaeda and other jihadists," he said "These recourses can easily be used by terrorists to stage [attacks of an] unprecedented scale."

Khokhlov believes that the Western countries and the United States do not understand some vital things about the Arab world.

"They still think in terms of colonial times," he said "They vastly underestimate their influence over the internal situation. One has to understand that nationalism is the major driving force across the region. When people see the attempts of the West to push towards them it could easily radicalize the situation and this chain of revolutions will never end."

Looking at the movements in Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan as what they really are - rather than as what they are feared to be - reveals broad-based popular uprisings that do not bear the Islamist organisational or ideational imprint. The Egyptians in the streets, much like presumptive coalition leader, Mohamed ElBaradei and women's rights activist Nawal El Saadawi, all state categorically that what is happening in Cairo, Suez and Alexandria has nothing to do with the Muslim Brotherhood. The demonstrations were started by bloggers, social media activists, Al Jazeera watchers - not by the Brotherhood - which joined the demonstrations three days later. There are no Islamist banners being held up in the streets, no Islamist leaders jumping on soap boxes calling the faithful to jihad.

Russian political expert Igor Khokhlov comments on the influence of Al-Qaeda in Libya

Российский политический эксперт Игорь Игоревич Хохлов комментирует ситуацию в арабских странах в ходе волны революций и связь белорусского президента Александра Лукашенко с Муаммаром Каддафи в Ливии.

Igor Khokhlov, a military analyst from Moscow, believes that Lukashenko, who has frequently been dubbed "Europe's last dictator", has serious incentives to support Gaddafi's regime.

"First of all, there are a lot of similarities between those two regimes, and secondly, Belarus needs hard cash," he told RT.

There were also reports saying that a private jet, allegedly owned by Gaddafi himself, visited Minsk on Friday - something the Belorusian foreign ministry denies - with claims it could have been helping take Gaddafi's wealth out of the country.

"We know that Gaddafi's personal wealth is estimated at about US $70-100 billion, which is a staggering amount for such a small country as Libya," the analyst continued. "We know that many assets [that belong to] Gaddafi and his clan have been frozen all over Europe and all over the world. So, now Gaddafi desperately needs a safe haven for his money."

Given the circumstances, it is quite likely that Gaddafi is now looking for partners all over the world to save at least some amount of his hidden cash, Igor Khokhlov concluded.

Doctor Igor Khokhlov comments on the wave of Arab revolutions all over the Arab world

Игорь Игоревич Хохлов и другие политологи комментируют ситуацию в арабских странах в ходе волны революций, прогнозируют дальнейшее развитие событий и дают оценки возможной роли радикальных исламистов.

"The major peril now is the radical Islamists coming into power all over the region. You know, these revolutions in Egypt, in Syria, in Tunisia, all over the Arab states, they have not been Islamic yet," says political analyst Igor Khokhlov. "You can see that many radical Islamist parties which have been suppressed by previous regimes like Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, for instance, and al-Qaeda which is very strong in Libya -- you know, the Libyan department of al-Qaeda is one of the strongest in the world, maybe the second strongest after the Pakistani one -- so one of the greatest dangers now is that al-Qaeda and other Jihadist networks try to make use of the situation."

Radical islamists could come into power all over the Arab world