Related Quarterly Updates

Russian envoy Viktor Posuvalyuk visited Jordan and Syria 12/25-27, meeting with King Hussein, Jordanian PM Majali, and Syrian FM al-Shara' about the peace process. He returned to the region on 2/6 for five days of talks in Damascus, Beirut, and Amman.

In the absence of Quartet meetings on the peace process and P5+1 meeting on Iran, Russia largely monitored events in the region this quarter but kept lines of communication open. PA Pres. Abbas met (3/22) in Moscow with Russian pres. Dmitri Medvedev, who expressed concern over the stalled peace talks and reaffirmed support for creation of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Days later, on 3/24, Israeli PM Netanyahu also met in Moscow with Medvedev, asking him to halt arms sales to Syria and increase pressure on Iran to end its nuclear program. Medvedev did not comment publicly. The following week, Israeli chief negotiator Molcho and Israeli FMin. legal adviser Daniel Taub made (3/30) a secret trip to meet with Russian FM Sergei Lavrov, Russian special envoy to the Middle East Sergei Yakovlev, and other senior Russian officials. The purpose of the Israeli visit was to urge Russia not to support the EU call for an international peace initiative at the Quartet session in mid-4/2011 and to brief Russia on plans for a major policy speech by Netanyahu (see “Netanyahu Maneuvers” above); no details were released.

Of note: On the eve of Netanyahu’s visit to Moscow, Israel complied (3/21) with a 2008 court decision to return to Russian ownership Sergei’s Courtyard, a prominent Jerusalem landmark built in 1890 to accommodate Russian pilgrims to the Holy Land.

Russia’s hosting of the 5/22 FatahHamas meeting to sign their understandings on implementing their unity agreement (see “National Reconciliation” above) marked one of Russia’s most significant interventions in the peace process in years; Mustafa Barghouti, of the Palestinian National Initiative, stated (5/22) that it elevated Russia to cosponsor (along with Egypt) of reconciliation talks.

On 5/18, Israel acknowledged that Russia had expelled its military attaché, Vadim Leiderman, from its Moscow embassy for spying, stating that the charges were unfounded. Russia said (5/18) that it had warned Israel 3 times that Leiderman had inappropriately contacted Russian military officials without coordinating with the Russian FMin. and had expelled him the 4th time he did so. Russian security officials said Leiderman attempted to obtain information on secret military sales to Arab states, recruited Russian civilians as spies for Israel, and inappropriately lobbied on behalf of an Israeli defense company. Soon after, a senior Russian government minister canceled (5/23) a planned visit to Israel for defense talks amid tensions over the issue.

Russia’s participation in the peace process was limited this quarter to (1) the Quartet, where it gave lukewarm endorsement to the U.S.-drafted 9/23 initiative for restarting Israeli-Palestinian talks, and (2) the UNSC, where it strongly supported the Palestinian statehood bid. In the context of French pres. Sarkozy’s 9/21 proposal to restarting negotiations under broader international mediation (see “New Offers as the UNGA Session Convenes” above), Moscow reiterated (early 10/2011) its longstanding offer to host an international conference to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, but no one seriously expected this would happen soon.

Russia did not play a major role in the peace process or the Palestine issue this quarter, generally limiting its involvement to the Quartet. The Arab League’s call (2/12) for an international conference to discuss the Palestinian issue (see “Regional Affairs” above) raised some speculation that Russia’s longstanding offer to host an international peace conference might be revived, but there was no follow-up.

Of note: After a failed UNSC meeting on 12/20 to discuss recent Israeli settlement authorizations and the stalled peace process (see “United Nations” below), Russian amb. to the UN Vitaly Churkin made an especially strong statement denouncing the U.S. (though not by name) for blocking a UN statement calling on Israel to halt all settlement construction as a step toward reviving peace talks. He accused “one delegation” of believing that things would “miraculously” sort themselves out on their own, adding that without international pressure on Israel to halt settlement expansion, the Palestinians would never get a fair deal in negotiations.

Russia limited its involvement on the Israeli-Palestinian track to the Quartet this quarter, focusing instead on issues related to Syria and Iran.

On the Israeli-Palestinian front: Russian pres. Vladimir Putin made a 1-day visit to Israel on 6/25 for the unveiling of a monument dedicated to Russian soldiers. He also met with Israeli PM Netanyahu, DM Barak, and other senior officials, who urged Russia to pressure (1) Iran to halt its nuclear program, (2) Syria to halt violence against the opposition, and (3) the Palestinians to resume negotiations. Putin was noncommittal. On 6/26, Putin met with PA pres. Abbas in Ramallah and toured holy sites in Bethlehem. Putin called the Palestinian conditions on resuming negotiations with Israel “responsible” and reiterated that Russia would recognize a Palestinian state.

Also of note: A new charity funded by 3 Russian Jewish billionaires and comanaged with the Israeli government announced (6/26) plans to offer a $1-m. “Genesis Prize” for excellence in any field. The prize is intended to “honor those who attribute their success to Jewish values” and to “recognize the role of Jewish identity in encouraging universal achievements.”

After Russian pres. Vladimir Putin’s proposal to host peace talks between PA pres. Abbas and Israeli PM Netanyahu in Moscow fell through last quarter (see JPS 46 [2]), the Russian govt. backed away from the Israeli-Palestinian arena. PLO secy.-gen. Erekat said (1/7) that Abbas was still willing to go to Moscow, and Russian FM Lavrov confirmed (2/1) that the invitation was still on the table, but nothing came of the proposal this quarter.

After briefly partaking in the international effort to facilitate a new round of IsraeliPalestinian peace talks in late 2016 (see JPS 46 [2]), Russia was largely absent from the Israeli-Palestinian arena this quarter. An exception to this was a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 4/6 clarifying its position on one of the major final-status issues to be resolved in any negotiations. In a statement condemning Israel’s plans to build a new settlement in the West Bank, as announced on 3/30 (see “The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict” above), the Russian Foreign Ministry said, “We reaffirm our commitment to the UNapproved principles for a Palestinian-Israeli settlement, which include the status of East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state. At the same time, we must state that in this context we view West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.” Previous Russian statements had indicated that East Jerusalem should be the capital of any future Palestinian state and neglected to mention the status of West Jerusalem.

                In December, Russia presented itself as a possible broker between Hamas and Fatah. On 21 December, the Russian deputy prime minister announced in a press statement that Hamas had accepted a meeting with Fatah leaders in Moscow. The press statement was released on the same day that Palestinian Authority foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki said in a press conference with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov that he welcomed Russia’s effort to mediate between the parties. The Egyptian mediation between Fatah and Hamas has been stalled since June (see Intra-Palestinian Dynamics). The Russian effort at mediation between the parties is expected to start in 2019.    

               After Israel heavily bombarded positions inside of Syria in January (see Israel), the spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry said on 23 January that the Israeli “practice of arbitrary strikes on the territory of a sovereign state, in this case, we are talking about Syria, should be ruled out.” The spokesperson further stated that, “[w]e should never allow Syria, which has suffered years of armed conflict, to be turned into an arena where geopolitical scores are settled.” Israel said earlier that it was targeting Iranian positions in Syria. Several people were killed in the Israeli strikes, some of them Syrian nationals. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian president Vladimir Putting met in Moscow on 27 February where they discussed the situation in Syria. Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov later stated that President Putin had offered Prime Minister Netanyahu and PA president Mahmoud Abbas a summit on the Middle East peace process and that both leaders had expressed some interest. Russia hosted representatives from Hamas and Fatah in February, seeking to facilitate in the reconciliation process (see Intra-Palestinian Affairs).

Quarterly Updates for (1 Jan 1970 — 1 Jan 1970)

On the Israeli-Palestinian front: Russian pres. Vladimir Putin made a 1-day visit to Israel on 6/25 for the unveiling of a monument dedicated to Russian soldiers. He also met with Israeli PM Netanyahu, DM Barak, and other senior officials, who urged Russia to pressure (1) Iran to halt its nuclear program, (2) Syria to halt violence against the opposition, and (3) the Palestinians to resume negotiations. Putin was noncommittal. On 6/26, Putin met with PA pres. Abbas in Ramallah and toured holy sites in Bethlehem.