00:00Gemma, Zelensky has also said Russia don't deserve the lifting of sanctions and says they are betting on war.
00:08Almost what Shane was just echoing there, is Russia really using the Iran conflict to its own advantage now?
00:16A hundred percent. Moscow is exploiting the situation whilst avoiding, in their part, any major risks.
00:24So it's a hands-off approach that is benefiting them.
00:28Now, their biggest advantage right now, which Shane did touch on, is economic.
00:33Now, the war has pushed oil and gas prices higher and that directly boosted Russian revenues and has become a
00:40major financial lifeline because, yes, their economy, depending on who you believe, had either stagnated or was completely on its
00:49knees.
00:49And now they've had this cash injection to the tune of billions because they can leverage, you know, their energy
01:00supplies, especially when it comes to Europe.
01:03Because if Middle East supply is unstable, countries are forced to look elsewhere and Russia is going to be one
01:09of those places they look.
01:11Now, the conflict also in Iran has shifted away attention.
01:17Ukraine was making front page news, the war in Ukraine.
01:21And now it's been relegated because the attention has been shifted.
01:26Now, additionally, Russia is strengthening their ties with Iran.
01:29Iran, they've always been allies amid allegations as well, that they are potentially supplying Iran with, you know, military information,
01:37especially with regards to who they were targeting when they were firing missiles.
01:41Now, whilst they're gaining right now, economically and strategically, this position really does depend on how long the war lasts
01:50and how it eventually plays out.
01:53Now, a wider war could destabilize the oil markets, make it very unpredictable.
01:59Or if Iran is seriously weakened, Russia could lose a key ally.
02:04And in addition to that, if the chaos does, you know, the war does expand and draws in other territories,
02:12this can spill over into other key Russian allies, such as Syria.
02:17So at the moment, yes, they are benefiting economically and strategically, but it really does depend on whether the ceasefire
02:26continues and what happens after that.
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