Russia and South-West Asia: a view from the region

Abstract

This chapter explores the main direction, purposes and priorities of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation in South-West Asia1 as it evolved in the 1990s. Like tsarist Russia, the former Soviet Union was a powerful force in this region. A weakened Russia in the 1990s has lost its predominant position in much of South-West Asia. Primarily because it forms Russia’s turbulent ‘south’ and strong geopolitical interests are at stake, however, South-West Asia and its several subregions continue to occupy an important place in the country’s foreign and security policies.