The “Indispensable Nation”; a “resurgent power”; “Jack of All Trades”; the “power broker”: these are some of the expressions used to describe Russia’s role in the MENA region today. In a context where the US seems to keep disengaging from the region and the EU’s influence remains very low, Russia indeed seems to emerge as a crucial player, able to determine the outcome of many crises. To what extent does this reflect reality? This dossier selects five among the most severe crises affecting the region and analyses Russia’s real interests and actual gains for each of them.
