Archives Russia in the Middle East - New Eastern Outlook

On January 28, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, accompanied by the Russian President’s Special Envoy on Syria Alexander Lavrentiev, paid a visit to Damascus.

”A summit in the name of strengthening partnership and development”, “BRICS on the road to a multipolar world” – these and other similar headlines may be seen in Middle Eastern media commenting on the 16^th BRICS summit in Kazan.

The Israeli strike that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh pushed the Middle East a lot closer to a wider war than it was before July 31^st. Because Haniyeh was killed on Iranian soil during an official visit, Tehran promised military retaliation. The latter sees this as necessary to punish Israel to counterbalance the humiliation it suffered for failing to protect an official guest. But, thanks to Russia’s intervention and proactive diplomacy, clouds of a wider war have begun to disappear.