Strategic Assessment

Russia’s search for the best way to integrate in the international system and promote its ambitions has led to substantive changes in Russia’s foreign policy approach in the past two decades. The result has been noticeable active Russian involvement in major international issues such as relations with the US; arms control; development of relations with the EU and NATO; and the Middle East. For Russia, which only recently found itself on the fringes of the major international processes, this is an attempt to change its standing and regain a central role in the international arena. The article surveys the developments in Russian foreign policy and the practical implementation of this policy, while examining its ramifications for the Middle East.