Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)
Russia has a clear and consistent foreign policy. It was consolidated over the past four years in light of the sharp rise in energy prices, which turned Russia into a rich country, and thanks to Putin’s leadership, which seeks to challenge the United States and restore Russia’s former glory.
Putin is not trying to restore relations with the U.S. and the West to the days of the Cold War, but neither is he willing to waive Russia’s wishes and interests in favor of the West’s. The complexity characterizing Putin’s foreign policy is causing the messages emerging from Moscow on Iran to sound ambiguous and confusing. Russia does not want its Shi’ite Muslim neighbor to have nuclear weapons, but it also sees Iran as an important market for the sale of arms and nuclear power plants for producing electricity. As far as Russia is concerned, Iran has been a target of diplomatic influence throughout history. …
In his approach to Iran, Putin is actually improving on the European carrot-and-stick method. … Russia’s message to Iran is: You have a right to enrich uranium for civilian needs, but you don’t have to do it now. Russia supports you, but you are liable to lose our support if you are too stubborn. Access the full article>>