ABSTRACT
W hile the dissolution of the Soviet Union may be considered The Event of Our Era’, the independence of the Muslim republics of the former Soviet Union has clearly changed the face of the Middle East. 2 As the new republics began a crucial search for self-identity, a s, John Benjamin, of HM Foreign and Commoquest for domestic rehabilitation and formation of guidelines for their foreign relations, outside countries – notably the neighbouring Muslim states of the Middle East, particularly Turkey and Iran – rushed in to offer co-operation, to advance their own interests and to prevent any other possible ramifications.
