Russia - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

City scape of Moscow, Russian capital.

Russia

October 28, 2026

Moscow 4:43 pm

12°C

Putin

Analysis

Putin puts Trump ahead of Iran in bid to mediate war

Anton Mardosov, reporting from Moscow, and our correspondent in Tehran assess the limits of Russian influence in Iran; Ben Caspit reports that Netanyahu could force a unity government with an attack on Iran after the elections.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA - AUGUST 15: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) walks with Russian President Vladimir Putin as they arrives at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on August 15, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska. The two leaders are meeting for peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Analysis

Putin's Iran diplomacy faces limits as Russia eyes Ukraine concessions

As US-Iran tensions escalate, Russia is stepping up mediation efforts, hoping to gain leverage with Washington over Ukraine despite its limited influence on Tehran.

Anton Mardasov

By Anton Mardasov

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (L) and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrive to hold a press conference after a meeting in Tehran on October 19, 2026. The Russian foreign minister arrived in Iran on October 19, in his first visit since the outbreak of the Middle East war as Moscow seeks to play a mediating role. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How Lavrov's Tehran visit tests limits of Russia's influence over Iran

As Tehran looks for an off-ramp from renewed conflict, Moscow is positioning itself as a diplomatic partner while pushing Iran to deliver on long-delayed economic deals.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (L) shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi upon his arrival in Tehran on Oct. 19, 2026.

Lavrov visits Tehran as Trump praises Russia's role on Iran: What to know

During a meeting with his Iranian counterpart earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin renewed Moscow’s offer to mediate between Tehran and Washington.

Latest News

Explainer

Russian diesel heads to Morocco as supply crunch grips global markets

Fuel prices are displayed at a petrol station in Rabat

Analysis

Pragmatic politics: Why Turkey avoids blaming Russia for Black Sea attacks

A cargo ship at the Port of Trabzon, Turkey

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Putin offers to help end Iran war, but can Russia deliver?

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian shake hands during a meeting in Turkmenbashi on Oct. 8, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Pezeshkian to meet Putin as Iran looks to Russia for support: What to know

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian hold a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, on Sept. 1, 2026.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with Russian Foreign Secretary Sergey Lavrov after a news conference at the presidential residence of Bocharov Ruchey in Sochi, Russia May 12, 2015. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RTX1CO82

US-Russia relations still tense after Kerry's visit

US Secretary of State John Kerry's recent visit to Moscow was indicative of the US policy of "selective engagement" with Russia.

Kuwait's Foreign Minister sheikh Sabah al-Khaled al-Sabah (L) arrives to attend the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 30, 2015. Leaders from the GCC group of countries arrive in Saudi Arabia to discuss the ongoing conflict in neighbouring Yemen, Iran's nuclear programme and prepare for a summit with U.S. President Barack Obama next month. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RTX1AZJL

Why Russia's Mideast agenda doesn't appeal to GCC

Both Russia and the Gulf states have pursued divergent foreign policies for years, though some may be ready for an alliance.

Patriarch John X Yazigi, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, delivers a speech at a ceremony to pray for peace in a country plagued by two and a half years of war, during a Christmas mass at al-Maryamyeh church in Damascus December 25, 2013, in this handout photograph released by Syria's national news agency SANA. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION ANNIVERSARY) ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE

Eastern patriarchs meet in Damascus

The Eastern patriarchs met in Damascus on June 8 to discuss the Christians’ situation in the region, following coordinating efforts between Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai and the Vatican, and Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X Yazigi and Moscow.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (C) attends a meeting with members of the Syrian opposition and the Damascus government ahead of talks that attempt to revive peace plan efforts in Syria, in Moscow, January 28, 2015. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged members of the Syrian opposition and representatives from Damascus at peace talks in Moscow on Wednesday to join forces to combat the threat of "terrorism". Expectations of a breakthrough in Moscow are low, but Russia hopes the talks will giv

Russia mulls strategy to solve Syrian conflict

Moscow continues to see the Syrian president as an important ally in the struggle against extremists, and its support for an inclusive national dialogue prompted the Russian Foreign Ministry to host two inter-Syrian consultative meetings that appear to have played a positive role.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R), accompanied by Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, attends a meeting with the BRICS countries' senior officials in charge of security matters at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, May 26, 2015. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTX1EM1D

Russia and the nuclear-free zone

While Russia blames the US, the UK and Canada for not supporting a recent international agreement on a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East, Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy firm is said to be exploring the options of providing Saudi Arabia with a nuclear power plant.

The Russian ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin abstains from a vote in the United Nations Security Council attempting to halt the escalating conflict in Yemen in New York April 14, 2015. The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday imposed an arms embargo targeting the Iran-allied Houthi rebels who rule most of the country and blacklisted the son of Yemen's former president and a Houthi leader after veto-power Russia abstained. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTR4XBCA

Russia weighs in on Yemen

After Russia's shift to soft power in the Middle East, President Vladimir Putin discusses Russia's "need to abandon ‘the law of the strongest’ and ‘rule of the fist.’”

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a news conference at the NATO Foreign Minister's Meeting in Antalya, Turkey, May 13, 2015. NATO and Ukraine voiced concern on Wednesday about Russian statements on the possible future stationing of nuclear weapons in Ukraine's Crimea region, which has been annexed by Moscow. REUTERS/Kaan Soyturk - RTX1CTH1

NATO taps Turkey to counter Russian threat

Turkey recently hosted a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, who discussed efforts to transform the organization into a highly maneuverable body that can rapidly intervene in crises with the support of regional alliances.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu attends the opening of the Geneva-2 peace conference in Montreux January 22, 2014. Syria's government and opposition, meeting face to face for the first time at a U.N. peace conference, angrily spelled out their hostility on Wednesday as world powers also restated contrasting views on the future of President Bashar al-Assad. REUTERS/ Jamal Saidi (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17PGV

The Turkey-Saudi axis against Damascus

Will the US support the gains of Islamist opposition in Syria?

A worker carries out a routine check in a natural gas control centre of Turkey's Petroleum and Pipeline Corporation, 35 km (22 miles) west of Ankara, January 5, 2009. The European Union on Monday scheduled talks with Russia to press for a speedy resolution of a dispute with Ukraine that has hit gas supplies to countries in eastern and southern Europe facing freezing temperatures. Turkey has increased gas delivered direct from Russia via the Blue-Stream pipeline under the Black Sea to compensate for a slight

Is Turkish Stream a pipe dream?

Turkey and Russia appear keen on the Turkish Stream pipeline project, setting aside differences, but analysts suggest there is more political than economic logic involved.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) attends a commemoration ceremony marking the centenary of the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in Yerevan, Armenia, April 24, 2015. Armenia's president said on Wednesday he was ready to normalize relations with Turkey, two months after he withdrew peace accords from parliament, blaming a Turkish lack of political will to end 100 years of hostility. Speaking ahead of Friday's centenary of the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks which is at the heart of t

Russia's recognition of Armenian genocide strains ties with Turkey

Moscow’s acknowledgment of the Armenian genocide and President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Yerevan for the genocide commemorations shake Turkish-Russian ties.

Abdulrahman Al-Banyan (2nd R), Saudi Arabia's Chief of Staff, arrives to the Arab League headquarters to attend an Arab defence ministers meeting in Cairo April 22, 2015. The talks are expected to focus on the war in Yemen, Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East and security threats from Islamic State. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

Should Saudi Arabia test Iran’s offer of diplomacy on Yemen?

Iranian officials offer diplomatic initiative and warnings on Yemen; book burning in Giza; Kremlin ignored Israeli objections on missile system sale to Iran; Russian "soft power" in the Middle East.

A man walks past a banner with a picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin along a bridge, in central Cairo February 9, 2015. Putin is due to arrive on Monday on his first visit to Egypt in ten years. The banner reads "Welcome" REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih(EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4OTYE

Russia turns to soft power in the Middle East

While Russia is most commonly seen as a hard power state, regional developments since the Arab Spring have positioned it as a soft power force.