Fyodor Lukyanov: Putin visited the Middle East this week. Here’s why it was important

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trip to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, followed immediately by his Iranian counterpart’s visit to Moscow, reminded us of the importance that the Persian Gulf has acquired in international affairs, and especially in domestic foreign policy. It is not that the region has been ignored before; there have always been reasons to keep an eye on it. But these were mainly due to issues with natural resources and the geopolitical struggle to control them.

The structure of the international system has changed. Firstly, the so-called ‘middle powers’ – and all the countries I have mentioned belong to this category – play a much more important role than they did 10 to 15 years ago, and this influence is growing at the expense of the big countries. Second, regional politics is increasingly driven by…