The middle east is the second largest market for russian arms exports, exceeded only by south and southeast asia. Pdf on feb 1, 2019, tristan kenderdine and others published russia s middle east policy. Russian foreign policy in the middle east and north africa mena has a long. Nowhere has a failure of american leadership been more profound than the middle east. Russia, first and foremost, supports the assad regime in syria militarily in order to preserve its interests in the region.
The decision to increase russia s presence in the middle east was also determined by economic drivers. Syria turned out to be an ideal case that captures all of putins interests. The influence of external factors on russias arms export policy sergey kortunov i. Six factors are identified as most critical to russian foreign policy in the region. The influence of external factors on russias arms export. For this purpose, russia s policy rests on several pillars.
Putin of russia has stepped in, expanding moscows influence in the middle east and seeking to regain influence lost with the collapse of the soviet union, the end of the. Although there is no question that moscows meddling in american elections is deeply worrying, it is just one aspect of the threat russia poses. Ultimately, for moscow it is a matter of acquiring leverage to improve russias room to maneuver in the arabmuslim world and to. Introduction in the former soviet union, with its administrativecommand economy, there existed an effective system of state control over arms exports by the executive authorities. In addition, she is a fellow at the european foundation for democracy and was previously with the peterson institute for international economics and the atlantic council. Russian foreign policy toward the middle east under putin and medvedev, though, is not so much that of an assertive great power as it is that of a prudent. East, have become fundamental to russi an foreign policy in the middle east freire, 2011, p.
With the start of the military intervention in syria in 2015, and the u. In the broader universe of moscows foreign policy, the middle east generally ranks after the united states, europe, and china and asia. Russian policy across the middle east chatham house. The meeting was held on january 17, 2020, in the russell senate office building with ambassador richard j. Concurrently, russia engaged in feverish activity in regional politics, at the. Russia is making a concerted effort to reclaim its role as the arms supplier of choice for arab governments.
Additionally, east ukraine tends to vote for politically conservative and prorussian candidates in elections, with over 75% in some regions and at least 50% in general. Russia the washington institute for near east policy. This would destabilize the region, increase islamist militancy, and destroy the nonproliferation regime. Jan 15, 2016 russia s plan for the middle east by maxim a. Anna borshchevskaya is the ira weiner fellow at the washington institute, focusing on russia s policy toward the middle east. Russian foreign policy in the middle east under putin. Download pdf since becoming president in 2000, vladimir putin has reinvigorated russia s middle east ties, a trend underscored by his bold military intervention in the syria crisis. Since the rise of putin, russia has also been pursuing an active foreign policy in the middle east. Russia s po l i c y in t h e mi d d l e eas t pr o s p e c. From the russian perspective, the middle east serves as a region where moscow can showcase its mil itary prowess and geopolitical weight, and elevate its 3 carole nakhle, russias energy diplomacy in the middle east. Eu and suppliers in the middle east, central asia and russia. Pdf russias middle east policy in the context of postcold war. Get your free copy here in 1787, the russian empress catherine ii visited crimea with several european ambassadors. Turkeys ability to import additional volumes of gas to meet the growing demand as well as to renew the contracts after their expiration in the 2020s is fraught with daily send out capacity constraints of the bota s system entry points and legal.
Russias plan for the middle east the national interest. Russias policies on the middle east could be divided into two. United states foreign policy in the middle east after the cold war jonathan cristol 48 4. Russia is in the middle east to stay council on foreign. Russian foreign policy and the middle east beginning in 2005, russia noticeably increased its engagement in the middle east. The trump middle east marshall plan white paper by tom barrack march 10, 2017 overview the policies of the last eight years have created unprecedented challenges for our nation at home and our allies abroad.
A renewal of russian leadership russia is seemingly not willing to limit its mandate solely to the protection of orthodox christians. Russias curious relationship with the middle east from. Instability in middle east and afghanistan readings. Schmierer moderating and executive director thomas r. It seeks to shed light on what drives the kremlins engagement with the region, how local actors respond to russian policy, and the role russia is carving out for itself in the middle east. S l o w y o u g o m a t t e r h o w and the middle east i. Pdf evolution of russian foreign policy and the middle east. A view from moscow, carnegie endowment for international peace, april 2010. Apr 14, 2020 today, russia sees the arab spring as a threat because not only is it toppling regional allies and clients, but it seems to be an example to some of the russian protestors who have used some of the very same methods and technology to organize the protests in moscow, said paul du quenoy in this interview on russia s relationship with the middle east. Russia is in the middle east to stay foreign policy. Russia s reappearance as a player in the middle east under president vladimir putin has the aim of restoring the countrys position as a great power outside of the former ussr.
Moscow has wider ambitions that encompass the entirety of christian communities of the middle east. The state of the russian economy is a function of its soviet past, and the structure that the soviets built was a response to their geopolitical position, strongly in. Russia pursues a policy of balancing in the middle east. Russia seeks to be able to effectively influence and shape outcomes, but a. The decision to increase russias presence in the middle east was also determined by economic drivers. Providing this country, with an impressive array of possibilities mostly associated with superpower status. Turkish foreign policy in the middle east the perception of the governments neoottomanism among the arab masses and its consequences the socalled neoottomanism of the akp government raised eyebrows both in the east and the west. Russia does have extensive economic interests in the middle east, and especially in syria.
Middle east states use russia as an alternative and a signal to the west. Why russia supports repressive regimes in syria and the. The following is an edited transcript of the ninetyninth in a series of capitol hill conferences convened by the middle east policy council. This article was originally published here on on friday, march 16, 2018 when russia intervened in syria in. From 2005 to 2007, president vladimir putin visited egypt, israel, saudi arabia, jordan, qatar, turkey, iran, and the united arab emirates uae, and russia gained observer sta. G8 member s differed in their opinion s as to the causes of the war, their assessment s of israels response, and their proposals on how to resolve the. In fact, commercial contacts between smyrna an ancient city in turkey and boston began as early as 1767, when smyrna products most notably figs appeared in america.
Vladimir putins russia is losing power in the middle east. Russias return to the middle east european union institute for. Putins apparent victories in spreading russian influence are mirages, some of which have come at a. These can be seen in its willingness, for the first time since the sovietafghan. American fatigue in the middle east from 15 years of conflict and a genuine lack of clarity regarding u. Russia in the middle east motives, consequences, prospects. Prior to the arab spring, algeria, syria, and libya regularly. In this study, after the cold war, russia tried to answer questions about the changes and developments in middle east politics. Coordination with the energyproducing states of the middle east is vital to russia s plans to utilize oil and gas revenues for its own.
War marked the decline of the soviet unions superpower status. Russia seeks to be able to effectively influence and shape outcomes, but a lack of means limits what it can achieve. The most important spheres are sales of military equipment and energy. Many observers believe that the greatest damage russia has done to u. Worldwide threat assessment of the us intelligence community february, 2018 introduction chairman burr, vice chairman warner, members of the committee, thank you for the invitation to offer the united states intelligence communitys 2018 assessment of threats to us national security. Suchkov in 2015, moscow set an important precedent for its foreign policy when it decided to launch a largescale operation outside of what it. The russian economy and arms exports to the middle east. Policy challenges i 11 the establishment of close relations with the radical camp in the region.
Russian foreign policy in light of changing balances in the middle east if turkey is able to regain the influence she once enjoyed during the period of the ottoman empire, this would have negative consequences for moscow and tehran in the middle east. Petersburg, which was overshadowed by events in the middle east. Nikolay kozhanov the current russian presence in the middle east is unprecedented for the region since the fall of the soviet union. Russia considers better relations with middle eastern countries a means to avoid international isolation, to compensate for the negative effects of international sanctions and to put additional pressure on the west. The regions of east ukraine in which individuals speak the most russian and are the most politically conservative are geographically closest to russia. Russian foreign policy in the middle east association of. Islamic terrorism, arms transfers, natural resources, influence over former soviet spaces, general trade, and great power status.
The first is the allconsuming political manoeuvring over. This being the case, certain changes are evident in russias middle east policy and actions. The purpose of the trip was to impress and deceive the ambassadors regarding the true power capacity of russia prior to a new war against the. Russian aversion to regime change by force, especially from the outside, which has become a crosscutting line in its policies concerning the middle east and. Shibley telhami has conducted a public opinion poll which examines american attitudes toward the middle east, including the israelipalestinian conflict, iran, and russia. Records of diplomatic and political contacts show increased exchanges of multilevel delegations between russia and the main regional. This is an excerpt from conflict and diplomacy in the middle east. Russias middle eastern policy osrodek studiow wschodnich. Back to a grand strategy or enforcing multilateralism. Sep, 2016 exactly how far russias resurgence in the middle east will ultimately go remains to be seen, as do the potential strategic ramifications for u.
The four pillars of russias middle east policy divisions over the lebanese crisis surfaced at the 2006 g8 summit in st. In light of the new reality, concrete changes in russias middle east policies have begun to. Russia s po l i c y in t h e mi d d l e eas t pr o s p e c t. Similar to china, russia is becoming one among few countries that will pursue an independent foreign policy course and play a significant role in a number of key regionseurope, northeast asia, and the socalled greater middle eastthe areas with predominantly muslim populations southward from russia. Russia is pursuing a middle eastern policy that is designed to reduce u.
Similar to china, russia is becoming one among few countries that will pursue an independent foreign policy course and play a significant role in a number of key regionseurope, northeast asia, and the socalled greater middle east the areas with predominantly muslim populations southward from russia. Its goal was to reclaim its status as a global power broker. Mar 16, 2018 consequently, one of the best things americans can do to counter the russians in the middle east is to set aside the partisan warfare that is weakening and destabilizing the united states. With rare exceptions, these principles are shown to guide russian foreign policy in the middle east. The russian intervention in the middle east stands in stark contrast to the policy of the eu. Includes bibliographical references pages 273285 and index the end of the soviet union precipitated a reassessment of russia s foreign policy in many parts of the world, none more so than in the middle east. Argument what putin really wants in syria russia never sought to be a smalltime fixer in the middle east. The eu and russia do not have the same view of syrias destiny. The middle east is one of the regions of the world where russia can demonstrate its relevance as an agendasetting power, and into which russia can credibly project a modicum of military power. American attitudes on trumps foreign policy survey methodology the survey was carried out november 16, 2017 online from a nationally representative sample of nielsen scarboroughs probabilitybased panel, originally recruited by mail and. Ultimately, for moscow it is a matter of acquiring leverage to improve russia s room to maneuver in the arabmuslim world and to. Secrieru, russias return to the middle east, chaillot paper 146, euiss paris.
Russias return to the middle east nicu popescu and stanislav secrieru the us department of defenses 1984 annual assessment of soviet military power was particularly concerned with the rise of moscows influence in the middle east and beyond. This paper analyzes contemporary russian foreign policy toward the middle east. The kremlin again sees russia as a great power on a global scale, and as such it cannot ignore a region so close geographically, so rich in hydrocarbons, and so unstable socially and politically as the. Russia considers better relations with middle eastern countries a means to avoid. American attitudes on trumps foreign policy a public opinion poll by shibley telhami. In the context of the extension of th e geographical relations, russia intends to. Russia is a founding member of the contact group and since the denver summit in june 1997 a member of the g8. Russia is losing in the middle east and around the world. An unusual coming together of circumstances has reinvigorated russia s middle east policy. The united states foreign policy toward the middle east before world war i american trade with the middle east dates back more than two hundred years. This policy discussion addressed the russian role in the middle east, particularly in light of conflicting views between russia and the majority of the arab states on uprisings and ongoing. An unusual coming together of circumstances has reinvigorated russias middle east policy. Nevertheless, what this incident demonstrated is that russian policy towards the middle east is mediated through two key external non middle eastern prisms. This ui paper traces moscows role in the middle east and north africa through soviet times to the present day.
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