Matthew Rojansky
{
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"Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center",
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}Source: Getty
For U.S., Russia, Interests Trump Rhetoric in Middle East
Despite high-profile disagreements on Syria and the broader changes brought in the wake of the Arab Spring, the United States and Russia continue to share similar interests in the region.
Source: World Politics Review

Finger-wagging aside, Russia’s main message during the so-called Arab Spring has not been about the United States. Rather, it has been about the Middle Eastern societies undergoing intense political change. And herein lies perhaps the biggest fundamental difference between Washington and Moscow in the “new” Middle East: whether the changes sweeping the region should be eagerly supported or warily monitored. Moscow’s experience as a patron of various regional strongmen and militant groups during the Cold War and afterward has taught Russian policymakers to approach political transitions with extreme caution, all the more so when they involve nationalist or Islamist ideologies and heavily armed private militias. From its own history, too, Russia has reason to trust the maxim that revolutions devour their children and are not especially kind to meddling foreigners.
To read the rest of the article, follow this link to the website of the World Politics Review:
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/12343/for-u-s-russia-interests-trump-rhetoric-in-middle-east
About the Author
Former Deputy Director, Russia and Eurasia Program
Rojansky, formerly executive director of the Partnership for a Secure America, is an expert on U.S. and Russian national security and nuclear-weapon policies.
- An Opportunity for Ambition: Ukraine’s OSCE ChairmanshipPaper
- Presiding Over the OSCE: Challenges and OpportunitiesIn The Media
Matthew Rojansky
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
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