Russia and the Arabs: Behind the Scenes in the Middle East from the Cold War to the Present

Part memoir, part history, Russia and the Arabs reveals the past half-century in the Middle East from a viewpoint seldom seen by Westerners. Yevgeny Primakov, formerly the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Foreign Minister, and Prime Minister of Russia, exposes how key political events unfolded through the personal interactions and rivalries among notable leaders from Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin to Anwar Sadat and Saddam Hussein, whom he knew personally. He shows how the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israeli wars developed, exposes Russias previously unknown role in the 1991 Gulf War, and assesses Russias Middle East policies alongside those of other foreign players, including the United States. The authors first-hand accounts of behind-the-scenes encounters and his insights into what really drove the regions key events make Russia and the Arabs an essential read for everyone interested in world affairs.