Russian President Medvedev to visit Israel in mid-January

President Dmitry Medvedev's first visit to Israel in mid-January, part of a Middle East tour, is intended to signify a major switch in Kremlin Middle East policy to warmer relations with Israel and correspondingly less intense ties with Iran, Syria and the radical Palestinian Hamas. This will be the second visit by a Russian president to Jerusalem. Vladimir Putin's was the first when he was president in 2005.
DEBKAfile's Moscow sources report that the Kremlin has watched the Obama administration Israel-Palestinian peace diplomacy run out of steam and sees its chance for a more active role on this diplomatic track.
The Russians have got two bids in play for a slice of the as-yet untapped Mediterranean gas. 
Russian energy experts calculate that Israel's offshore gas reserves, currently  estimated at about 25 trillion cubic feet, are in fact much bigger and maintain they could be better explored with Russian professional assistance. Leviathan is seen as the most promising of the three strikes.
Moscow is seeking to exploit the deepening strategic ties between Israel and Greece to jump aboard their plans to build an underwater gas pipeline linking Greece to the Israeli Mediterranean port of Ashkelon.
Seeking to exploit?  Israel's wealth is increasing, as prophesied.