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Source: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/mesh/2008/08/russia_and_the_middle_east/
Russia and the Middle East
[Middle East Strategy at Harvard] Walter Laqueur - As Russia returns to a position of strength, a main aim will be to weaken America's position in the Middle East since the belief that America is Russia's worst and most dangerous enemy is quite common. Moscow has threatened to supply greater help to Iran and Syria, which would certainly annoy America. But Russia does not want to do this at the price of creating political and military problems for itself in the years to come. The attack on South Ossetia provided Russia with a unique opportunity; it was motivated by a militant Georgian nationalism which failed to understand that small and weak countries, unlike big and powerful ones, are not in a position to keep separatist regions indefinitely under their control. Such opportunities will not frequently return, and other opportunities will have to be created by the Kremlin - probably by exploiting existing conflicts such as those in the Middle East.