Peace in the Middle East has historically been an issue monopolized by the United States (in varied machinations), but as President Bush's international reputation has waned, it seems that Russian President Vladimir Putin has stepped into the void and is making his own attempts to bring stability to the region.
Yesterday, he met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran, and now today he is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Moscow. He has positioned himself as an intermediary between the two geopolitical powers in the region and in the process raised his own international reputation.
Putin is a bit of an enigma. As he is approaching the end of his term-limited Presidency, he has announced his intention to run for Parliament where he will likely become the next Prime Minister. And now today, he has called for a stronger Parliament.
None of this is necessarily a negative as he is stepping down and will be elected again. It seems under his leadership Russia has made great strides (albeit possible rollbacks in democracy); and if he continues dialogue with both Israel and Iran, he has furthered prospects for peace.
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