Publication

This paper analyzes Russia’s renewed interest in the Middle East. The author examines Vladimir Putin's foreign policy toward several Middle Eastern countries. He emphasizes Russia's wide-ranging political, economic and security interests in the region. According to the paper, a new feature of post-Soviet Russian foreign policy is the widening of contacts with Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The abandonment of Marxist-Leninist ideology makes Russian foreign policy in the region more flexible. The paper concludes that Muslim discomfort with US policy in Iraq gives Moscow further opportunities to broaden its presence.