Key Points
* Vladimir Putin’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan in February 2007 is part of Russia’s return to the Middle East.
* The post-Soviet Russian leadership sees the Middle East as an area in which Russia already has wide-ranging political, economic and security interests.
* The widening of contacts with Saudi Arabia and Qatar is a new feature of post-Soviet Russian foreign policy.
* The abandonment of Marxist-Leninist ideology makes Russian foreign policy in the region more flexible.
* Moslem discomfort with US policy in Iraq gives Moscow further opportunities to broaden its presence. Rivalry with the USA is a significant feature of Putin’s Middle East policy.
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