Historically, Russia has been involved in various issues with different countries in the Middle East, such as the Ottoman Empire, Syria, Iran, and Iraq, where Russia has either supported a party or fought.
Since the establishment of the USSR in the 1920s, due to the fact that they shared a border with the Middle East, they have had eyes over that region, specifically because of the resources and its own security concerns. On the other hand, Russia could not put its 100 percent focus on the Middle East; they had some other regions to focus on, like the Indian Ocean and Eastern and Central Europe. But if Russia had a choice between the Indian Ocean and the Middle East, which one would it choose? Obviously, Putin would go with the Middle East because it’s now closer, it has a huge number of natural resources, it’s closer to Europe, it’s connected to Africa, there are countries to oppose the US together with Russia like Iran, and unlike India, which has close ties with the US, Putin knows very well that thinking about the Indian Ocean at this time is not even possible, but why not the Middle East? In spite of a lot of challenges present there for him.
Well, President Putin, as the successor of other Russian leaders, most importantly the Yeltzin family, followed up on the same policy towards the Middle East: to be a mediator and not force the people of that region, but to implement soft policies. Mr. Putin has always condemned the Westerns, their policies, and their operations in the Middle East just to bring the attention of the public to those events, but he has always been trying to implement Russia’s favorite policies in a secretive way. The war in Syria can be the best example of this. The Russians made thousands of Syrians flee from their houses, and they built a military base instead. And Russia has been giving hands to the President of Syria just to oppose Western hegemony and widen its influence in one of the most important regions in the world.
The recent war that took place in the Middle East between Palestine and Israel again has had Russia play a precious role, which they already played during the Cold War, but this time they are using different means and tools. In the Cold War era, Russia did not appreciate Israel, and there were a number of hostilities. Furthermore, this time Mr. Putin condemned the October 7 attack by Hamas, and at the same time he had words to say for Israelis: he said that he was blocking the Gaza Strip, likening it to Nazi Germany’s siege of Leningrad during World War II. Recently, Putin made a trip to the Middle East to suggest Russia as one of the mediators to solve the historical problem between the two parties, Palestine and Israel. It’s not simply a suggestion of mediation between them but an offer to all countries in that region. He apparently showed that Russia does not want war in the Middle East, unlike the United States, which overwhelmingly supports Israelis. Over all, if Russia gains the trust of those countries that could not trust the US, it will be one of the biggest wins for Russia.
In addition, Putin believes that if a country is not a security threat to Russia’s national security, that country needs Russia’s support by any means, such as security, reconstruction, and many more. Since neither Palestine nor Israel are considered a threat to President Putin, he sees them as the same. Beyond that, Putin sees no chance to sell its oil to countries in the Middle East; the one and only way is to insure them with security treaties and develop projects. But those security treaties won’t be really trustworthy due to the fact that Russia invaded Ukraine, and at the moment the war is ongoing, the projects seem costly to Russia where its economy is struggling, so it is not an easy choice for Russia. Now the question is, will Putin risk all of these for having a future in the Middle East? Time will show us if Putin wins or loses.
In conclusion, Russia tries to interfere in the Middle East; more than that, they want to win the competition that they realize they have with the United States, with no economic or force loss. This time, what the Russian administration does in the Middle East will determine their future role in that region, which can give Russia a very big amount of interest or, again, a historical lesson outside their borders.
The writer is a student of “BS International Relations” at “International Islamic University Islamabad”.