Russia and Israel under Yeltsin

Abstract

important successor state put a new focus on the rapidly changing relations between Moscow and Jerusalem. From the 1967 war until Mikhail Gorbachev began his policy of perestroika twenty years later, Soviet policy-makers viewed Israel as a pariah state. In the latter years of the Gorbachev era, however, there was a major turnabout in Soviet policy toward Israel, and by the time the Soviet Union had collapsed in December 1991, full diplomatic relations had been restored between the two countries and trade had begun to develop. In the subsequent six years, relations between Russia and Israel have had a series of ups and downs. This paper will analyze the evolution of Russian-Israeli relations from the collapse of the USSR in December 1991 until Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov's visit to the Middle East in October 1997. Prior to undertaking this analysis, however, it is necessary to examine both the course of Russian domestic politics during this period and also the often disjointed foreign policy-making process in Russia, since both factors have had a significant impact on Russian foreign policy toward Israel. In addition, a review will be made of the new regional priorities in Russian foreign policy toward the Middle East, so as to put Russian-Israeli relations in the proper perspective.