Katz, Mark N.2010-08-302010-08-302007-06-11https://hdl.handle.net/1920/5944© 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Deposited with permission from UPI.com.Under Vladimir Putin, Russia has pursued three main goals in the Middle East: first, to prevent the United States from becoming the predominant power there; second, to prevent the Middle East (and broader Muslim world) from sympathizing with and supporting Chechen rebels and other Islamic opposition movements in Russia and elsewhere in the former Soviet Union; and third, to make money for Russian enterprises through expanding their investments in and exports to the Middle East.en-USInternational affairsRussiaMiddle EastArticle