Russia's vision for dominance in the Middle East suffers under conflict

The Kremlin clings to the hope that conflict in the Middle East will become a bane for US dominance in the region and an opening for Russia’s influence. This delusion cannot accommodate the reality in which US diplomacy plays the central role in promoting solutions for the destructive Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the US military executes active deterrence to check its escalation. Moscow used to enjoy the ability to communicate with every participant of the overlapping clashes and quarrels in the region. This versatility, however, is either lost due to the embrace of such criminal groupings as Hamas and Ansar Allah or has become irrelevant because Russia is no longer seen as a reliable counterpart. The resource base for Russia’s foreign policy has shrunk so severely that its interests in the Middle East are set to suffer accordingly.