Key Middle Eastern countries have different perspectives on Russia. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union aligned itself with radical Arab countries and provided abundant weapons, often as grant aid or at cut-rate prices. It also provided political support in international fora. Today, Russia's role has been reduced, but it remains an important actor with very different relations with a number of Middle Eastern countries.

The Soviet Union was extremely hostile toward Israel despite its early support for the state at its creation. Today, with nearly one million Russians living in Israel, the relationship has become much more fluid. The Russian constituency in Israel is growing in importance, politically and economically, and this has reverberations in Moscow. Hence, despite Israel's concern over Russian support for Iraq and Iran and its meddling in Syria and Egypt, Israel regards Russia as an important country that can, at times, be helpful in both political and economic arenas. Several of the niche markets that Israeli high-tech industry wishes to exploit have potential outlets in countries of the former Soviet Union--hence the frequent visits by Israeli businessmen to Russia and vice versa. There is every indication that Israel wishes to have good relations with Moscow and that President Putin will sustain this relationship. The Russians are well aware that adopting a hostile attitude toward Israel would hurt their interests, including their relationship with the United States. Israel also needs to cooperate with Russia to counter the criminal activities of the Russian mafia, which uses Israel as a base.

Syria and Egypt both had close ties to the Soviet Union at various times during the Cold War. They now are willing and eager to be friends with Russia, though Egypt is in no position to resume an arms relationship and has no interest in doing so. Syria would like to receive further Russian weaponry, provided that the financial dimension can be resolved. Syria still owes Russia billions of dollars for arms purchased from the Soviet Union. Likewise, Libya still retains a military relationship with Moscow and sees Russia as a supplier of weapons that it cannot get from the West.

Russia has retained close ties with Saddam Hussein despite the fact that Mikhail Gorbachev and the Soviet Union supported Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield (though it will be recalled that in the last days before the war began the Soviet Union intervened diplomatically, hoping to prevent a war). Close ties have been particularly evident in the relationship between Yevgeniy Primakov and the Iraqi regime. Baghdad clearly regards Russia as one of the key powers capable of offsetting American pressure. Russia has been a leading voice, along with France and to a lesser extent China, at the UN Security Council to remove sanctions, or at least dramatically reduce them. Moscow has also been vague about condemnation of Iraq over UNSC violations. Russia clearly has financial motives. It is owed billions of dollars for arms that Iraq purchased from the Soviet Union. Russian companies would benefit greatly if sanctions were lifted, and Iraq would be in the position to eventually rebuild its military arsenal, if and when sanctions are removed. However, this mutual cooperation has its limitations, and one should not assume that a full-fledged alliance between these two countries is possible anytime soon, so long as the Saddam Hussein regime continues to obfuscate on the WMD issue. Yet, from the Iraqi perspective, Russia must be high on its list of foreign policy priorities.

Iran also sees Russia as a strategic ally. Mutual interests override disagreements (the latter include disputes over the ownership of the Caspian and the potential for Russia and Iran to be competitors in the energy field). The two countries share common ground in opposing American policies in the Caspian Basin. Russia is a source of military equipment that Iran cannot get from the West. It is also providing Iran with the nuclear technology to complete the Bushehr nuclear reactor. Moscow and Tehran strongly object to the American policy of promoting east-west oil and gas pipelines in the Caspian region that would bypass both Russia and Iran. Iran assists Russia by downplaying the Chechnya crisis and generally being more supportive of Armenia than Azerbaijan, which is in keeping with Russian policy. Iran and Russia share suspicions of Turkey and NATO, especially NATO expansion. Iran sees Russia as an ally in the context of its worsening relations to the east--especially with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Both Iran and Russia regard the Taliban and its supporters in Pakistan as being the pathfinder for dangerous, radical Sunni Islam movements that could spread across Central Asia and ultimately into Russia itself. Ironically, Iran, which was the object of vehement opposition in the early days of the revolution when it was spearheading revolutionary change, now sees itself as a status quo power, resisting the radicalism of the Taliban and its supporters in Pakistan. Furthermore, both Russia and Iran have good relations with India.

Despite common interests, Iran is wary of Russian behavior, particularly toward Saddam Hussein. Iraq remains the most serious threat to Iran, no matter what rhetoric it uses to demonize the United States and Israel. As a consequence, the rehabilitation of Saddam and the rearmament of Iraq would be a matter of grave concern in Tehran and would strengthen the case for both an Iranian nuclear capability and further modernization of its conventional armed forces. Supporting such programs might be tempting for Russia, but doing so would also raise problems. Russia has gotten into deep trouble with the United States over the support Russian entities have provided to the Iranian surface-to-surface missile program. Iran is aware that if Russia has to choose between the United States and Iran, it will probably choose the former. Iran recalls that China also supported Iran's nuclear industry a few years back but then cut off most of the ties once it became clear that the United States demanded that it do so.

US National Intelligence Council