Center’s Analytics
This section will feature reports and ideas of the Primakov Center’s specialists and invited experts. The analytical materials are drafted within the framework of the Center’s program activities and devoted to topical issues of the international agenda with a focus on Russia’s cooperation with the countries of the Middle East and North Africa.
Triumph of Geopolitics? Evolution of Russian Approaches
to the Middle East

The year 2023 was characterized by a sharp deterioration of the situation in the Middle East after the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Russia attempted to take a neutral position, generally consistent with or coinciding with the reaction of the international community. At the same time, deep contradictions between the policies of Russia and the collective West remain and may worsen if the situation in the zone of the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation becomes more violent. Russia’s principled position on this long-standing conflict is well known, and it consists in resolving the issue on the basis of the two-state solution and preventing the discrimination of sovereign rights of the Arab people of Palestine.

Policy brief “Russia and Iraq: Resilience amid Regional Instability”
In 2024, Russia and Iraq celebrate the 80th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The position of Iraq and its role in the regional system of international relations and security in West Asia consistently changes under the influence of transformations of the world and regional order and due to the peculiarities of domestic political processes. There are new issues of synchronisation of transport projects. In this respect, Russia can become an effective political partner for sovereignty development for Iraq, and the latter can become an important partner for Russia in economic and oil policy issues. Despite political risks and regional instability, relations between Moscow and Baghdad are “stress-resilient,” and cooperation between the countries demonstrates positive dynamics and is developing on various tracks.
Silk Road vs Spice Route: India in the Middle East

The Middle Eastern leaders do not consider India either as a potential counterweight to Washington or as a replacement for it; China is better suited for this role. Middle Eastern leaders are ready to develop their economic ties with India, but in spite of its size, India will not take the place of the United States, Russia, China or the EU, Ruslan Mamedov writes.

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