Title: Russia in the Middle East : Friend or Foe?

Author: Andrej Kreutz 

Publisher: Praeger, 2007

This book describes Russian policy in the Middle East with particular focus on the post-Soviet period from 1991 to the present. The author pays attention, however, to previous Soviet and Imperial periods as necessary background to understanding recent events. He highlights both historical continuities as well as historical contradictions in the relations between Russia and the Middle East .

Considering Russia 's relations with Syria , Lebanon , and Jordan , Kreutz notes that Moscow has always been interested in the Eastern Mediterranean and its Arab nations for geopolitical, economic, and cultural reasons. These countries provide a waterway to the Mediterranean Sea, linking Russia to the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, and Asia . This waterway is crucial to Russia , and Moscow continues to view Syria , Lebanon and Jordan as necessary partners. Any military or social threat from the region will cause fear and anxiety in Russia .

From the l! ate 1950s to the 1980s, Syria was one of Moscow 's main allies. Kreutz points out that following the logic of the Cold War, the USSR supported the Arab national liberation struggle against Israel and US hegemony. Its main champion, Damascus , was subsidized, armed, and protected by Russia . Relations with Lebanon and Jordan , on the other hand, though never neglected, were of minor importance. Both countries were firmly in the Western camp and the Soviets had no practical means of influencing their policies. Full review