Itai Sened of Tel Aviv University explains the differences in Russian and U.S. Middle East policies and offers his perspective on how Israel views Russian involvement in the region.
Video by Vladimir Stakheev
As one of the most volatile regions in the world, the Middle East has truly become the primary source of global chaos and destabilization over the last decade. Many of the world’s current challenges and threats now emanate from the Middle East: the refugee problem, the spread of extremism and terrorism, and the start of new civil wars in the region.
With that in mind, Russia Direct recently talked to Itai Sened, the head of the Department of Public Policy at Tel Aviv University, who unpacked for us the complexity of the Middle East’s realities and the policies of the major powers there, including those of the U.S. and Russia.
Vladimir Stakheev is Russia Direct's multimedia editor. As a professional photo journalist and videographer, he has travelled all over Russia and produced hundreds of multimedia features for Russia Beyond The Headlines, Al Jazeera and a number of Chinese-language publications. Vladimir graduated from the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas in 2005 with a degree in economics. Despite this background in economics, photography and filming has been his real passion since childhood. </p><p>
Alexey Khlebnikov is the Senior Editor of Russia Direct and a Middle East expert. He has been published on international relations topics in particular on the Middle East in academic journals and media sources in Russia, Europe, U.S., Israel and the UAE. He received his Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota in the United States as an Edmund S. Muskie Scholar. Currently he is working towards his Ph.D. in international relations.
