The war between Israel and Iran, Russia’s key partner in the Middle East, is entering its second week, with potential for escalation and worrisome spillover effects. Yet Moscow is not rushing to support Tehran in any meaningful way. President Vladimir Putin has even downplayed the significance of the strategic partnership agreement signed with Iran just six months ago. Instead, Putin is courting Donald Trump, offering mediation: an offer the U.S. president was quick to reject. Will there be a more heavy-handed intervention by the Kremlin to help Iran? What cards can Russia still play to remain relevant? How could the escalating conflict in the Middle East affect Russia’s strategic position, including in Ukraine?
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Elizaveta Fokht, a BBC Russian Service special correspondent, to discuss how Russia tried and failed to win over Trump.
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Edward Fishman, a senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, to discuss the new U.S. sanctions targeting Russia’s two largest crude producers.
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Robert Zoellick, formerly a president of the World Bank, U.S. trade representative, and U.S. deputy secretary of state, to discuss initiatives to seize Russian assets and give them to Ukraine, along with the associated legal hurdles.
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Justyna Gotkowska, deputy director of the Center for Eastern Studies in Warsaw, to discuss the latest Russia-related incidents over Denmark, Estonia, Norway, and Poland, and what they mean for NATO.
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Sergey Vakulenko, a senior fellow at Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center and leading expert on Russia’s energy sector, to discuss the state of the Russian oil and gas sector, which remains a crucial source of revenue for Putin’s war machine.