The Soviet Union used its relationship with Western Europe to gain favourable economic cooperation with the Arab world during the Cold War, and gained influence in the Middle East by inciting proxy conflicts between the Arab states and their Jewish neighbour. However, both superpowers interacted with proxy combatants, which factored into the Soviet Union's omission from the Camp David Accords of 1978. The policy exposed Soviet dualism; while aiming to reduce their military budget and improve their image of the world stage, they pursued an anti-Israel, pro-Arab policy in the Middle East.