MOSCOW, Oct 11 (IPS) – Russia is pursuing a new form of economic architecture and non-hegemonic policies in the modern era, while at the same time projecting its first-class military power in the world. The Russian development paradigm is clearly different and largely focused on the Global South.
While Russia opposes Western hegemony and dominance, and NATO, Israel maintains a complex relationship with the United States, characterized by deep-rooted historical ties.
But upon closer examination, it is also clear that Russia and Israel share a depopulation agenda; Russia is demilitarizing its neighbor Ukraine, both close-knit republics in Soviet times, while Israel aims to establish itself in Palestine. Russia called its war with Ukraine a “special military operation” that it launched on February 24, 2022, shortly after the Federation Council and State Duma (both houses of legislatures) approved. Since then she has assessed the ‘peace initiatives’ of China, South Africa and many others. Brazil and India are currently pushing for a peace summit. In the case of Israel, it has completely discarded the United Nations’ two-state resolution. The United States has provided a combination of different types of support to Israel since its recognition after its founding in 1948. The general view is that the United States has viewed Israel as a crucial ally against joint forces throughout the 20th century, especially during the Cold War. enemies such as Nazism and Communism.
In addition, the country has provided significant military aid to Israel, approximately $3.8 billion per year. On this basis and without doubt, Israel therefore represents the strategic interests of the United States in the region. With the escalation of the Israeli war in the region, Russia has started talking about peace initiatives, as opposed to accepting peace initiatives in the case of Ukraine. Russia has expressed concern about possible Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. Russia and Iran have excellent relations.
Previously, a number of foreign media outlets reported that Israel might attack Iran’s nuclear facilities in retaliation for the previous massive missile attack. Meanwhile, the United States has indicated that it does not support this idea. As the conflict continued and showed signs of disastrous consequences, including in Syria, Lebanon and Iran, Russia issued a more realistic warning in early October, especially to its citizens in Israel. The latest Israeli airstrikes on the area around Russia’s Khmeimim base in Syria prompted the Kremlin to order its estimated 1.5 million citizens to leave Israel immediately.
Furthermore, it warned its people to leave before it is too late. Something big was coming. Russia has also evacuated citizens from Lebanon. The perception was that Russia was neutral at first and played double games with Israel as a means to protect its citizens, as well as having little morals to advocate for peace between Israel and Palestine. The Palestine-Israeli conflict, which began in October 2023, has drawn global condemnation. Initially, Russia was extra cautious about talking about the Palestinian-Israeli situation because of two important factors. The first is related to Ukraine’s own military bombardment, which is similar to Ukraine.
However, South Africa has not made any accusations of genocide in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. As developments in the Gaza Strip show, the country has addressed the genocide case resulting from a disproportionate military response or the large number of Palestinian victims. The second point is that Russia has an excellent relationship with Israel, which has made it extremely difficult to publicly condemn Israel’s atrocities in Palestine. Russia and Israel have strengthened their bilateral relations.
Both stressed the importance of continuing active work in all areas of bilateral cooperation and the development of the economic, trade, scientific and cultural spheres, despite the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, and in particular between Palestine and Israel . Russia has proposed in the initial stages to take measures to conduct a comprehensive dialogue to ensure territorial integrity and sovereignty. Putin expressed Russia’s sincere condolences to the families and friends of the Israeli victims in October 2023. He also warned against further escalation of violence and the prevention of a humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip. In particular, he informed the Israeli side of the main points of the telephone conversation with the leaders of Palestine, Egypt, Iran and Syria.
In addition to the warning, Russia’s principled commitment to continue its work to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and achieve a peaceful resolution through political and diplomatic means was also reaffirmed. It was only quite recently, in December last year, that Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated Russia’s principled position in rejecting and condemning terrorists in all their manifestations, the Kremlin press service said after his telephone conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The conversation focused on the situation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and in particular on the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. Vladimir Putin reiterated the principled position of rejecting and condemning terrorism in all its manifestations. that it is extremely important to ensure that efforts against terrorist threats do not have such serious consequences for the civilian population,” the report said. The situation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was one of the central topics during Putin’s talks with the Saudi Crown Prince and the presidents of the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Egypt earlier in December 2023. Israel declared a total blockade of Gaza. Stripped and launched bombings on the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In late January, the Israeli army stormed a number of West Bank towns in sharply escalated fighting with the Palestinian resistance, according to several media reports, including Al Jazeera. Israel has declared a full siege on the Gaza Strip. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Egypt and Jordan have also submitted settlement proposals for the Gaza Strip. The Middle East is becoming a new arena of geopolitical confrontation. And Russian experts on Middle East issues have been putting forward their views since October 7, the start of the conflict. The experts maintained that Russia has been actively building its relations with Middle Eastern countries in the context of resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Middle East expert Andrei Ontikov told the Izvestia newspaper that if the Europeans and Americans really wanted to promote the idea of a two-state solution, they could put some pressure on Israel’s leadership. “While some of the elite are committed to the idea of establishing an independent Palestinian state, others believe that time for this is lost. Much will depend on the outcome of the war,” he said, adding that resolving the Palestinian issue would depend politically on both the Israelis and the Palestinians themselves, said Dmitry Mariyasis, principal researcher at the Department of Israel Studies at the Institute for Oriental Studies from the Russian Academy of Sciences. According to experts interviewed by the Russian newspaper Izvestia, Moscow’s aim here is to find support from partners in its confrontation with the West, including in Ukraine. Finding ways to reduce tensions not only between the Jewish state and the radical Palestinian movement Hamas, but also in the region as a whole, became a major topic of discussion during a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UN). -Security Council). On December 28, 2023, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised Netanyahu for not criticizing Russia in public statements about the “special military operation” in Ukraine. Lavrov said Russia’s goals of “demilitarization” and “denazification” in Ukraine were similar to Israel’s goals of defeating Hamas and extremism in Gaza. Excerpts from the January 12, 2024 briefing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova expressed her absolute regret over the enormous civilian casualties in the current escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. “Russia emerges from the unacceptability of targeted violence against civilians and the deliberate destruction of medical facilities and other civilian infrastructure.”
“Our country calls for strict compliance with international law, an immediate ceasefire in accordance with the decisions of the Security Council and the UN General Assembly,” Zakharova argued, closing her eyes to the consequences of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that started on the 24th. February 2022. In short: Russia has had significant multi-faceted relations with Israel in recent years, just as it has with South Africa. But what seems important for the Kremlin is the willingness to provide possible assistance to alleviate the suffering of civilians and de-escalate the conflict.
Moreover, in the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin’s comments on Palestine-Israel reaffirmed his principled position on the essence of avoiding such serious consequences for the civilian population and countering terrorist threats. In short, there would be no attempt, not even the slightest sign in the near future, to sever the decades-old relations between Israel and Russia.
Kester Kenn Klomegah focuses on current geopolitical changes, foreign relations and economic development-related questions in Africa with external countries. Most of his well-researched articles are reprinted in various renowned foreign media.
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© Inter Press Service (2024) — All rights reservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
