Russia’s increasing presence is being felt across the Middle East. Not just in Syria, where it has been fighting alongside the Assad regime for almost three years, but also with business, arms and oil deals and numerous diplomatic trips to and from Moscow. Why is Putin so keen to fill the void left by an ever less-interested US? And do the people of the Middle East want him there? Andrew Mueller is joined by Sami Hamdi, Anna Borshchevskaya and Tom Nichols.