In a week that saw Russia pulling some of its armed forces out of Syria and signs of increasing cooperation between Russia and the US in the region, it is important to examine Russian interest in energy, and particularly gas, in the wider East Med and Cyprus.
Many in the past tried to explain this interest on the basis of Russia protecting its global energy interests and particularly its dominance of the EU gas market. However, the contention that Russia’s involvement in Syria is driven by natural gas interests may be far-fetched.
Russia’s deep involvement in Syria, and cooperation with the US, has changed the East Med regional reality, redirecting the bloody conflict from a dead end to another path.
These issues are examined in this article.
