However in 1958 when that monarchy was overthrown in a military coup, things changed quickly and by April 1972 the two nations had signed a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation. The two did not always see eye to eye: the Iraqi treatment of the Kurdish people caused tensions as did the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan and then the Iraq-Iran war became a problem as the Soviet Union professed friendship with both warring nations.
But for around forty years, the relationship between the two countries was basically friendly. The biggest changes came in the 1980s when new Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, initiated his policy of glasnost, aimed at improving relations with Western countries and his own country’s finances. The Soviet Union backed resolutions by the United Nations Security Council that allowed the US to use military force against Iraq after the latter invaded Kuwait.
After the fall of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, when Russia became the Russian Federation, as it is today, Iraq and other Middle Eastern states found themselves marginalized; the Russians adopted a foreign policy more in line with Western countries. Throughout the 1990s, the former super power had to take a back seat to the Americans.
When the Communist ideology collapsed and took the Soviet Union with it, Russia’s foreign policy had to change. It became more realistic. And soon international relationships were no longer based upon dogma or idealistic politics. Rather, they were based on practicality and whatever was in the Russian Federation’s own best interests.
However this did not stop the Russians, under the leadership of Russian President Vladimir Putin, from siding with Iraq on various issues. In fact, during this time the Russians were some of Iraq’s strongest allies.
Comments are closed.