... over 40,000 Russians live there.
Limitations
Nikita Smagin:
The Moscow–Tehran Axis: Alliance without Rigid Obligations
When considering all this, it is quite important to mention that regardless of their intentions and pragmatism, nations of the Middle East do not have the leverage to make Russia, Ukraine, and the West sit at a negotiation table and to enforce peace. However, their principal role is different, and it lies in setting up and maintaining proper negotiation process once the time and conditions come. Still, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are ready to offer ...
... boots on the ground: the 2015 JCPOA agreement allowed Russia to increase presence in Syria and send forces to Khmeimim, and Western presence increased in the campaign to terminate ISIS.
How to prevent the next phase
Today, ISIS is gone. They have lost ... ... know how they are still adamant that they have to do something.
Andrey Kortunov, Malcolm Chalmers:
Upholding Stability in the Middle East: An Opportunity for Russia–Europe Cooperation?
Dr. Kepel believes there is an opportunity for us to work on the reconstruction of the region in ...
How can Moscow respond to a possible US strike on Syria?
The aggravation of rivalry between Russia and the West in the past few months is raising the urgent question of a possible further escalation of tensions and its forms and consequences. Political relations between Moscow and Western capitals have gone beyond the critical point. The threadbare thesis ...
... Forecasting. A systemic approach has been taken to identify the most important areas of Russia’s foreign policy for 2018, as well as the key threats and opportunities for the country on the global arena. The geographic scope of the forecasts covers the West, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East and the post-Soviet states.
The authors hope that the ideas and conclusions provided in this report will be of use to the Russian authorities when making foreign policy decisions, and will come in handy for experts in international affairs, researchers and journalists.
The 2018 presidential elections will mark the beginning of a new foreign policy cycle for the Russian Federation....
... package of deals but have neither the time nor enough self-restraint for this. In Syria, Russia and the United States found themselves on the brink of open conflict and a new round in the war of sanctions. In this sense 2016 also cleared the air. The West has to take Russia into account in the Middle East, but will not become its strategic ally or even a partner in the foreseeable future. The West will maintain ties with Russia wherever it cannot do without them. It will make episodic attempts to isolate Moscow in other areas. The past year ...
... on the agenda will demand completely different involvement, resources and skills. What is more important, they will require a global strategic vision.
The future of the boosted “Russia’s return to the Middle East,” the fate of the Middle East, and, quite possibly, the fate of Russia and the West are up to our ability to meet these demands.
... of the entire bilateral relationship.
Third, it is the countries in the region that are most interested in Syrian normalization and the restoration of order to this territory swamped in chaos.
As for the search for regional partners, until recently Russia's Middle East strategy was described by Western analysts as "the art of being everybody's friend." But things are different now. By supporting the Syrian government and establishing an information center in Baghdad, Russia has effectively built a Shiite coalition in a Sunni-dominated ...