Nizameddin, T.; (1997) Towards a national foreign policy: Russia and the Middle East, 1991-1996. Doctoral thesis , University of London.

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Abstract

The basic aim of this thesis is to analyse the transformation of Russia's foreign policy from 1991 to 1996, using the Middle East as a case example of the changing perceptions and strategy of Moscow. Chapter one serves as an introduction while the final chapter, nine, is the conclusion. Chapters two and three are concerned with Soviet foreign policy from 1945 to 1991. Their main purpose is to provide a background to the relations between Russia and the Middle Eastern countries chosen for the thesis, but as importantly, to serve as a comparison with the post- Soviet period. Consequent chapters look at relations between Russia and the key countries of the region: ch. 5, Russia and Israel; ch. 6, Russia's relations with Israel's neighbours (excluding Egypt); ch. 7, Russia's relations with Iraq and Saudi Arabia; ch. 8 Russia's relations with Turkey and Iran. Chapter four provides a broad look at the transformation and debates regarding foreign policy under Yeltsin from 1991 to 1996. This chapter highlights the various phases in Russia's foreign policy outlook, which began as ideologically pro-Western in 1991 and settled into a pragmatic, national policy by 1996. I hope to show that this centrist position was not ideologically opposed to the West, but it sought much greater emphasis upon national interest. This, I argue, is a stable and rational policy for a world power to adopt. The Middle East is an area of high priority for Russia in which interests often do not coincide with those of the United States. By looking at the examples of the various countries, I hope to show how Moscow has sought to reconcile the relations established as a result of Gorbachev's New Thinking with upholding its traditional interests and geo-strategic concerns.

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