A comparative study of Russia's relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia during the presidency of Medvedev, 2012-2008

Since the coming of Medvedev as the Russian president in 2008, Russia's foreign policy has changed. According to Russian foreign policy think tanks, Medvedev has been introduced as a liberal westward that has emphasized the improvement of relations with Western countries because of common security threats and the need for greater economic and political liberalization. This policy has led to changes in Russian foreign policy in the Middle East and Moscow's relations with regional powers. The two main questions of this research are: 1. What were the priorities and goals of Russian foreign policy during the Medvedev era? 2. These priorities have led to what changes in Russia's relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia? To test the main hypothesis of the study, which states that "economic development as the first priority of Russian foreign policy during the period of Medvedev's presidency led to the adoption of a Western-oriented approach by him and the Kremlin's re-examination of relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia." we examined the principles and patterns of Russian foreign policy, its foreign policy in the Middle East, and Russia's relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia during the Medvedev era. Finally, the result of this study is that the priority of economic development and the improvement of relations with the West, has led to Russia during the Medvedev period, the gradual cooling of relations with Iran and relative proximity to relations with Saudi Arabia.