By Gleb Bryanski MOSCOW (Reuters) -Rising tensions in the Middle East will accelerate natural gas negotiations between Russia and China, with a decision likely this year, the head of a think-tank that advises the Russian government on China told Reuters.

Russia has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East for decades, trying to navigate its warm relations with Israel even as it has developed strong economic and military ties with Iran.

When Israel first started bombing Iran, many in Russia saw it as an opportunity, a means of drawing support and attention away from Ukraine.

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia remains ready to act as a mediator in the conflict between Israel and Iran, and Moscow's previous proposal to store Iranian uranium in Russia remains on the table, the Kremlin said on Monday.

Israel was exploiting its advantage, saying it had taken out dozens of surface-to-air missiles in western Iran and killed the intelligence chief of the Islamic Revoluti

Salem predicts that this attack may push Iran to make a deal with the U.S, "the outlines of which might be that Iran accepts to forgo enrichment inside Iran, with a big deal with the U.S. and the U.S. lifts sanctions on Iran and that could obviously lead to a sudden and rapid decline in oil prices, so one has to keep that in mind."

Russia is appealing to Israel to show restraint in the crisis with Iran, and believes Tehran is exercising its right to self-defence, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying on Monday.