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Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-russia2feb02,1,1277760.story
Russia Keeping Busy in Mideast Affairs
(Los Angeles Times) Kim Murphy - Russian President Putin is making it increasingly clear that the Kremlin does not intend to let the U.S. dictate the future landscape of the Middle East. During visits to Moscow, Palestinian leader Abbas won pledges of Kremlin support as a broker in the Mideast peace process, while Syrian President Assad received assurances that Russia maintained the right to sell it "defensive" weapons systems. "Russian policy is largely driven not by rational national interests, but by this complex of former greatness," said Andrei Piontkovsky, director of the Center for Strategic Studies in Moscow.