Russia and china target middle east arms deals wsj. 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. The middle east as a geopolitical arena russia in the middle east china in the middle east the united states in the middle east chinarussia usachina regional powers and the wars in iraq foreign and regional powers in the middle east the wrong explanations of the. The middle east states have the greatest power and agency to determine the viability of any russian strategy. Mar 07, 2017 russia views the middle east as its near abroad, and is in the early stages of executing a longterm strategy in an attempt to return itself to the powerful stature and influence it had in the.
Russia s po l i c y in t h e mi d d l e eas t pr o s p e c. Vladimir putins russia is losing power in the middle east. Many in israel and elsewhere feel that the rise of russian dominance in syria is either leading to a scenario with isaiah 17 with its wipeout of damascus, the capital of syria, or the events that trigger ezekiel 38 with an invasion of israel headed up by iran and, probably, russia. Russia and the arabs reads like a spy thriller, yet it is a profound study of russias involvement in the middle east based on unique firsthand experience and serious analysis. The soviets were south yemens major partner, but south yemen does not exist anymore. Speakers assessed russias political objectives in the region, its. Pdf on feb 1, 2019, tristan kenderdine and others published russia s middle east policy. According to jubin goodarzi, an assistant professor and researcher at webster university, the iraniansyrian alliance that was formed in 1979 is of great importance to the emergence and continuity of the axis of resistance.
A wmdfz in the middle east should be strongly supported as an important contribution to global security and the nonproliferation regime. Russia sees itself as an energy power, and looks for opportunities south of the border. Policy challenges i 11 the establishment of close relations with the radical camp in the region. Concurrently, russia engaged in feverish activity in regional politics, at the. Israel and russia in an evolving middle east scott b. Russia and china in the middle east rand corporation. Oct 11, 2017 russia, however, is pursuing this strategy not because it wants to be a major leader in the middle east, but because it wants to accumulate as much influence as possible.
This would allow it to offer to cooperate with the u. However, following the 911 attacks and in particular after the arab spring putins russia saw in the middle easts volatile condition as an excellent opportunity to expand its influence. Fourth, because of the energy riches of the region. The soviets built the aswan high dam in egypt, but a few years later the opportunistic president sadat terminated his countrys relations with the ussr, as henry.
The superpowers interacted with proxy combatants, which factored into the soviet unions omission from the camp david accords. Russia seeks to be able to effectively influence and shape outcomes, but a lack of means limits what it can achieve. Middle east states use russia as an alternative and a signal to the west. Pdf on feb 1, 2019, tristan kenderdine and others published russias middle east policy. Pdf russia being one of the major super powers in the region not only ceased to view the middle east as the secondary important player and develop. 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. Russia, turkey, united states viewed in middle east as. In 2011, it looked as if the arab spring uprisings would deal a further blow to russias declining influence in the middle east, by toppling syrian president assad, one of bashar almoscows few remaining allies in the region. Russias sense of national pride and specialness is shaped by immense geographic size, which imbues a sense of innate global role and significance. Suchkov in 2015, moscow set an important precedent for its foreign policy when it decided to launch a largescale operation outside of what it. Jan 15, 2016 russia s plan for the middle east by maxim a. 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. Both countries are in key locations of the middle east, and they have been affecting middle eastern politics during the past three decades.
Russias curious relationship with the middle east from. Russia is making a concerted effort to reclaim its role as the arms supplier of choice for arab governments. This article was originally published here on on friday, march 16, 2018 when russia intervened in syria in. Russia competition in the middle east is back foreign. The threats from russia and the middle east he art of war has changed considerably since the end of the second world war.
Russia and china target middle east arms deals the shift in a major defense market long dominated by u. As competition for dominance intensifies, the confrontation between irans network of state and nonstate actors, and a counterfront of traditional western allies centred on saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, and israel has become the regions central battle line. In the middle east, russia is back the washington post. Russia the washington institute for near east policy. After all, russian air support helped syrian president bashar alassads regime regain the upper hand against the rebels in syria. If washington wants to limit moscows influence and improve the u. War marked the decline of the soviet unions superpower status. Pdf why russia always failed in the middle east by. No serious student of the region will be able to ignore it.
Ultimately, for moscow it is a matter of acquiring leverage to improve russias room to maneuver in the arabmuslim world and to. Russias return to the middle east european union institute for. S l o w y o u g o m a t t e r h o w and the middle east i t d. Two opposing coalitions in the middle east define a rivalry that threatens to tear the region apart. Russias strategic objectives in the middle east and north africa. Russia in the middle east in 2015, russia returned to the middle east with its intervention in the syrian civil war, deploying military personnel outside what moscow considers its near abroad for the first time since the fall of the soviet union. Chairwoman roslehtinen, ranking member deutch, honorable members, thank you for the opportunity to testify today regarding russia s strategic objectives in the middle east and north africa. In the quarter century after the end of the cold war, russia and turkey made a spectacular transition from ageold adversity to mutual respect and understanding, despite the many differences.
Soviet middle eastern foreign policy during the cold war. To recap, putins general objective in the middle east is to establish russias status and role as a major outside power in one of the worlds most volatile regions. In the last 15 years, the centre of gravity has slowly shifted from the atlantic to the pacific. Historically, russias main contacts in the middle east used to be turkey and iran. Russias multifaceted diplomatic relations and recent interventionist trend are likely to be superseded by longerterm. Nov 18, 2019 in the middle east, the eu is already a weaker economic actor than china and a weaker military player than russia. 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. Russian military intervention in syria was not an attempt to exert domi nance as a hegemonic power in the middle east. Members of the russian army sit atop an armored personal vehicle with a logo of soldier of fortune, july 18, 1995 in grozny. Russia in the middle east pdf the jamestown foundation.
What is russia up to in the middle east trenin, dmitri. I will focus on president vladimir putins efforts to return russia to the middle east and especially highlight. 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. The soviet union used its relationship with europe to gain economic cooperation with the arab world during the cold war and its influence in the middle east by inciting proxy conflicts between the arab states and their jewish neighbors. A brief guide to russias return to the middle east. Secrieru, russias return to the middle east, chaillot paper 146, euiss paris. There is an outpouring of reporting on russian activities in syria, and to a lesser degree other countries in the middle. Russias plan for the middle east the national interest. Lasensky, vera michlinshapir since the end of the cold war, and particularly under vladimir putin, russias relations with israel have transformed dramatically. Russia is now in a position of force to be a peace broker in some areas or an efficient conflict mediator in others, engaged in keeping the stability of the middle east, a stability that mainly serves its major interests and goals. The two workshops were convened in london and washington, d. Russian foreign policy in the middle east under putin.
This article explores explanations of russias unyielding alignment with the syrian regime of bashar alassad since the syrian crisis erupted in the spring of 2011. In the past, nuclear weapons free zones have proved a useful. There is good reason to broaden our understanding of russian strategy in the middle east. Nov 18, 2019 russia is losing in the middle eastand around the world. The decision to increase russia s presence in the middle east was also determined by economic drivers. How china uses russia to counter america in the middle.
Build russias position as an alternative pole of global power. Middle east nuclear weapon free zone delivered by holly. Russia has achieved this through a strategy that combines the needs and weaknesses of the middle east, while coincidentally benefitting from the relative decline by choice of the united states. 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. However, the eu can cooperate with russia and china on upholding the joint comprehensive plan of action on irans nuclear programme. What vladimir putin really wants in the middle east. Nov 23, 2018 the middle east was never at the top of the russian or the soviet agenda until the arrival of putin. This article explores explanations of russia s unyielding alignment with the syrian regime of bashar alassad since the syrian crisis erupted in the spring of 2011. Using the lessons learned, russia has made substantial gains by increasing its influence and countering the u. Timorleste 1972 line of control line of actual control indian claim taiwan macau s.
From open hostility, confrontation, and proxy warfare. The middle east 2017 4 ern syriaand the panels on both iran and russia raised doubts about the willingness of either moscow or tehran to continue to pour resources into syria to do so. S l o w y o u g o m a t t e r h o w and the middle east i. Russian policy across the middle east chatham house. East china sea yellow sea sea of japan sea of okhotsk east siberian sea laptev sea kara sea arctic ocean barents sea. We engaged participants from russia, the middle east, europe, and the united russian strategy in the middle east james sladden, becca wasser, ben connable, sarah grandclement. Over the past several months, media reports have made it seem like russias influence is growing in the middle east. Russia in the middle east in 2015, russia returned to the middle east with its intervention in the syrian civil war, deploying military personnel outside what moscow considers its near. In 2011, it looked as if the arab spring uprisings would deal a further blow to russia s declining influence in the middle east, by toppling syrian president assad, one of bashar almoscows few remaining allies in the region. Russias policy in syria and the middle east central asia program. Ekaterina stepanova ekaterina stepanova is a researcher at the institute of world economy and international relations imemo, moscow.
Russia considers better relations with middle eastern countries a means to avoid international isolation, to compensate for the negative effects of. Ulaanbaatar beijing pyongyang seoul vientiane bangkok dhaka new delhi male colombo kuala lumpur. Russian ties to the middle east go back centuries and provide a valuable foundation on which to build. On december 9, 20, the brookings doha center bdc hosted a policy discussion on russias role in the middle east. However, when it comes to the middle east, trenin asserts that russia is not aiming to displace america from the region moscow had no interest and no means to fill the void. Only a few pages later, however, he hints that russia is playing a bigger game in both the middle east and beyond. Russia is in the middle east to stay council on foreign. The decision to increase russias presence in the middle east was also determined by economic drivers. Presentday russian activism in the middle east builds upon historical experience. Russias strategic objectives in the middle east and north.
Andaman islands india nicobar islands india lakshadweep india spratly islands hainan dao sakhalin wrangel island new siberian severnaya islands zemlya kuril islands franz josef land novaya zemlya luzon. Russian strategy in the middle east rand corporation. Vasiliev notes that sovietiranian relations improved after 1963, when the shah promised not to allow us missiles to be based in iran. From its quest for warm water ports and access to the mediterranean in the eighteenth century, to its policy of protecting fellow orthodox christians living in ottoman lands in the nineteenth century, russia historically has been a factor in. Putins apparent victories in spreading russian influence are mirages, some of which have come at a great cost. Back to a grand strategy or enforcing multilateralism.
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