Executive Summary
The overall improvement in U.S.-Russian relations that the new Trump administration envisioned has not materialized as Washington and Moscow continue to disagree on a number of important issues such as sanctions, Crimea, eastern Ukraine, and NATO. The United States and Russia, though, do have several common interests in the Middle East. Both oppose the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, and both have good relations with most Middle Eastern governments. Still, differing Russian and U.S. attitudes toward Iran, in particular, will serve to limit – but not eliminate – the degree to which they can cooperate in the region.
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