Russia's Strategy in the Middle East

Russia's Strategy in the Middle East

Russia’s 2015 intervention in Syria, which caught many by surprise, seemingly heralded Moscow’s triumphant return to the Middle East. But Russia had in fact been edging its way back into the region since at least 2007, emphasising political and economic relations over security relationships. While Syria may not have been the start of Russia’s involvement in the Middle East, Russia’s activity in the region has most certainly increased since September 2015. Since its intervention in Syria, Moscow has signed investment, energy and arms deals with states throughout the region. Senior Russian dignitaries – including President Vladimir Putin – have increased the tempo of their personal engagements with Middle Eastern leaders. These activities have drawn regional states closer to Russia, but significant roadblocks to the depth of these relationships remain.

The RAND Corporation and the LSE Middle East Centre convened a workshop on 28 March 2018 bringing together analysts specialising in Russia and the Middle East. The workshop was the third in a series that examined the dynamics of Russia’s activities, relationships and overall strategy in the Middle East in order to identify the limitations of Russia’s approach to the region.

The workshop was split into four sessions, each exploring a relationship certain Middle Eastern countries and Russia. The first session examined the contours of Russia’s relationships with the Gulf states, both as individual states and as a regional bloc. The second session delved into the complicated relationship between Moscow, Baghdad and Erbil, emphasising the role of energy. The third session explored Russia’s seemingly strengthened security partnership with Iran, highlighting the political and economic points of friction. Lastly, the final panel examined Russia’s involvement in Syria and Moscow’s relations with the Assad regime.

Blog Pieces

• Russia's Strategy in the Middle East by Becca Wasser, RAND Corporation
• GCC–Russia Relations: Looking beyond Syria and towards Investment by Courtney Freer, LSE Middle East Centre
• Russia and the GCC: An Unlikely Partnership by Yury Barmin, Russian Scholar
• Between Baghdad and Erbil: Russia’s Balancing Act in Iraq by Maxim A. Suchkov, Al-Monitor
• Iran’s Relations with Russia: From Tactical to Strategic? by Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, Royal United Services Institute
• Russia and Iran: Common Interests, Ongoing Differences and Growing Risks by Mark N. Katz, George Mason University
• Russia in the Middle East: Trust no one, but sign business deals by Agathe Demarais
• The Limits of Russian Strategy in the Middle East by Ben Connable and Becca Wasser

The workshop video is part of the LSE Middle East Centre Youtube playlist.

The collected series of memos from the workshop were published on the Middle East Centre Blog.