Russia’s Middle East Policy

Dr. Anna Borshevskaya:

In her presentation entitled ‘Russia’s Middle East Policy’, Dr Anna explained Russia’s political history and how it influences its present-day politics. Focusing on Putin’s strategy towards the Middle East, Dr Anna underlined the importance of the Syrian ports for Russian’s regional presence and global power projection.

Dr Anna highlighted the importance of the Syria War for Russia in the region and demonstrated, at the same time, that Russia’s support for the Assad regime could negatively influence how Russia image in the region. Also, she discussed China’s growing influence in the region, and that China has the upper hand in the region thanks to its economic influence.

In her presentation, Dr Anna argued that Putin managed to achieve significant key domestic and foreign policy objectives without crippling costs and is well-positioned to direct Syria's future and become a leading power in the Middle East. Also, Libya emerged as another focal point of Russian activities that focuses more on securing Russian influence and building leverage than resolving conflicts.