Russia in the Middle East: EU & Israeli perspectives

As mentioned by one of the participants, the current situation in the Middle East can be described as the “era of Putin”. Most of the Russian efforts now concentrate on Syria. There are virtually three different wars currently taking place in Syria: Internal – between the Assad regime and the rebels; Regional – the Saudis, the Turks and the Qataris are backing the opposition, while Russia and Iran are backing the regime and; A confrontation between great powers – Russia vs. the US. All three conflicts are connected and therefore a durable ceasefire would have to include all of them.