Russia-Israel relations in the light of Iran's regional role

As Putin came to power in 2000 and adopted a policy of balancing in international relations, Russia's foreign policy toward the Middle East changed. Russia's relations with Israel have also undergone a significant upheaval, and after about 40 years Russia and Israel expand their relations. Various factors such as Israel’s refusal to criticize Kremlin’s actions in Chechnya and Ukraine, as well as its non-compliance in Western sanctions against Russia, and the development of trade-economic relations in the Middle East have led Putin to expand relations with Israel, especially in the early years of his presidency. An examination of Russian-Israeli relations from various aspects shows that, the relation between the two, though weak, is positive. Trade relations are limited to the trading of raw materials, and hi-tech trading is limited because of Israel's foreign policy model. Military relations are also the weakest link between Israel and Russia because of Israel's heavy dependence on the US military industry. And despite important strategic issues such as Iran, Syria and Palestine, which hinder the expansion of their relations, the two sides are working to strengthen their relation.