Our Senior Research Associate Dr Toby Greene introduces our latest strategic assessment: Russia in the Middle East. Read the paper here.

Russia is taking advantage of regional chaos and US retrenchment to extend its influence throughout the Middle East. Moscow sees an opportunity to undermine US and Western global power whilst extending its military and naval footprint, cultivating markets for arms and nuclear power, and controlling energy routes and sources.

Russia is offering arms and strategic cooperation to potential clients across the region. The most significant intervention has of course been in Syria, where with a carefully calculated deployment involving little more than 50 Russian planes, Moscow has turned the war in Assad’s favour.