Much has been made of Russia’s pivot to China as a danger to the U.S.-led world order, and the Kremlin has done its best to play up these fears in an effort to keep Russia punching above its weight. In reality, though, Russia has pivoted more successfully toward the Middle East, where President Vladimir Putin feels at home among a particular cohort of authoritarian rulers.
OP-ED
Leonid Bershidsky: Putin’s Russia is a Middle Eastern country
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C), Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attend a joint press conference following a trilateral meeting on Syria, in Ankara on September 16, 2019.
