Part I – Russia and the New M.E. Part I: The USSR and the Old Middle East
By Ted Belman and Alex Maistrovoy
The relationship between Israel and Russia saw little improvement in the first two decades following the fall of the Iron Curtain and the USSR. though there were signs of better days ahead.
Pro-Israel Vladimir Putin was elected in 2001 as was the more pro-Russian Ariel Sharon, who described Putin as “a true friend of Israel”.
In 2006, Vladimir Zhirinovsky visiting as part of a government delegation said that “Russia will never allow any kind of violence against Israel”.[20][21]
In 2011, Putin said: “Israel is, in fact, a special state to us. It is practically a Russian-speaking country. Israel is one of the few foreign countries that can be called Russian-speaking. Putin additionally claimed that Israel could be considered part of the Russian cultural world, and contended that “songs which are considered to be national Israeli songs in Israel are in fact Russian national songs”. He further stated that he regarded Russian-speaking Israeli citizens as his compatriots and part of the Russian World.
In April 2014, Israel took a neutral stance on the Russian annexation of Crimea at the United Nations, angering U.S. State Department and White House officials.] During Operation Protective Edge in 2014, Putin stated that “I support Israel’s battle that is intended to keep its citizens protected”.
Relations between Israel and Russia further improved after the Russian military intervention in Syria in September 2015. From then until July 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Putin met a total of 9 times. In October 2015, Israel and Russia held meetings to coordinate over Syria, and avoid accidentally clashing or scrambling each other’s communications while operating over the country.
In March 2016, Putin said the relations with Israel were special and based “on friendship, mutual understanding and the long common history”. Putin stated: “Russia and Israel have developed a special relationship. 1.5 million Israeli citizens come from the former Soviet Union, they speak the Russian language, are the bearers of Russian culture, Russian mentality. They maintain relations with their relatives and friends in Russia, and this make the interstate relations very special”.[35] In a meeting with Netanyahu in June 2016, Putin described Israel and Russia as “unconditional allies” in “efforts to counter international terrorism”.
Yisrael Beyteinu, the Israeli political party which best represents the interests and concerns of Russian Israelis, is led by an immigrant from Russia, Avigdor Liberman.
Prior to and immediately after the 2016 United States presidential election, Israel began lobbying the United States to strike a deal with Russia over restricting the Iranian military presence in Syria in exchange for removing sanctions over Russian military action in Ukraine. Donald Trump was reportedly a favorite candidate for both Russia and Israel, as Trump is widely seen, by both, as a strong supporter for Israel yet friendly to Russia.
“Israeli, Saudi, and Emirati Officials Privately Pushed for Trump to Strike a “Grand Bargain” with Putin” – via www.newyorker.com.
During a private meeting shortly before the November, 2016, election, Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, floated to a longtime American interlocutor what sounded, at the time, like an unlikely grand bargain. The Emirati leader told the American that Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, might be interested in resolving the conflict in Syria in exchange for the lifting of sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
Current and former U.S. officials said that bin Zayed, known as M.B.Z., was not the only leader in the region who favored rapprochement between the former Cold War adversaries.
While America’s closest allies in Europe viewed with a sense of dread Trump’s interest in partnering with Putin, three countries that enjoyed unparalleled influence with the incoming Administration—Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the U.A.E.—privately embraced the goal. Officials from the three countries have repeatedly encouraged their American counterparts to consider ending the Ukraine-related sanctions in return for Putin’s help in removing Iranian forces from Syria.
Marwan Bishara. “Netanyahu, Trump and Putin: A love story”. Al Jazeera. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
It all began with a meeting at Trump Tower in late September, 2016.
The meeting quickly turned into a “master class” in world geopolitics, according to former Trump advisor Steve Bannon. The seasoned four-term Israeli premier coached the billionaire political novice about the importance of US-Israeli relations in the shadows of the bitter realities of the Middle East.
He distilled and focused it all into a simple formula: Iran, not Russia, is “our” main enemy. In fact, the Russian president is uniquely positioned to help us against the ayatollahs and radical Islam.
Neither Trump nor Netanyahu could convince the US foreign policy establishment to embrace Putin, not even as a way to counter Iran.
In December 2016, Netanyahu instructed Israel’s UN delegation to skip a General Assembly vote on war crimes committed in Syria, under diplomatic pressure from Russia.[40] The following day, Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin proposed postponing a vote on Security Council Resolution 2334 to condemn Israeli settlement-building in the West Bank until after the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, in order to allow the new U.S. administration a say on the resolution, but this was rejected by other Security Council members.
On Nov. 24, 2016, Netanyahu called Russian President Vladimir Putin and explained that the resolution Obama was working to pass would disrupt regional stability and harm Israel. Netanyahu asked Putin to state that he intended to use his UNSC veto to scupper the resolution. But Putin refused.
However, Obama had additional plans, even though he had less than a month left in the White House. He and his staff began working on another UNSC resolution, which would have forced Israel to agree to a Palestinian state based on the 1948 borders. Israel’s UN ambassador at the time, Danny Danon, sounded the alarm.
At the time, the US administration denied the Israeli claim that another resolution, in addition to UNSCR 2334, was going to be brought before the UN Security Council.
How Russia saved Israel from a Palestinian state based on the ’48 borders
Nevertheless, Netanyahu again sought help from Putin to prevent another resolution. In another phone conversation, he explained to Putin that Obama’s new resolution would do serious harm to Israel and could destabilize the region.
Putin was convinced and told Netanyahu that if the resolution came to a vote, Russia would veto it.
According to what Netanyahu said in the closed meeting, Obama was informed of Russia’s intention to veto the American move. Obama realized that if Russia vetoed a US resolution in order to protect Israel, it would be a fatal blow to the US’s image as an ally of Israel and its standing in the Jewish community. Therefore, Obama decided to shelve the resolution, Netanyahu said.
In May 2018, Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman stated the Israeli government had opposed sanctions on Russia despite foreign pressure to support them.
At the 2018 Russia–United States summit in July 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin agreed to cooperate in Syria to ensure Israel’s security. U.S. National Security Advisor John R. Bolton later claimed that both Israel and Russia sought the withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria.
In December 2018, Russia backed Israel’s security concerns over Hezbollah tunnels dug under the Israel-Lebanon border, urging Lebanon to resolve the issue.
On 7 February 2019, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister urged Israel to cease its airstrikes in Syria.[55] Relations were repaired after a meeting between Putin and Netanyahu in Moscow on 29 February 2019, after which Netanyahu announced Russian support for removing Iranian fighters from Syria, and that Putin had accepted his offer to visit Jerusalem.[56] On 3 March 2019, Netanyahu announced the establishment of a joint Israeli-Russian team to pursue the withdrawal of all foreign troops deployed in Syria.[57] On 18 March 2019, Putin suggested inviting Netanyahu to Crimea for the opening of a new synagogue there.[58]
2020s
On 15 January 2020, an Asia Times report cited an Israeli foreign ministry official as stating that Russia expected Israeli diplomatic assistance in ending Western sanctions on the Syrian government in return for permitting the continuation of Israeli airstrikes in Syria.
On 15 December 2020, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised the 2020 normalization of relations between Israel and several Arab states, describing it as a “positive phenomenon”.
Coalition against Iran and Turkey
Russia’s improvement of relations with Israel coincided on the same time with growing Russia and Israel’s alliance with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, both have common opposition toward neo-Ottomanism initiated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, both countries are also fighting proxy wars with Turkey in Caucasus, North Africa and the Middle East. Israel has largely sided with Russia against Turkey in recent years, Israel’s silent support for Russian intervention in Syria in opposition to Iran and Turkey, although Israel objects to Russia’s relations with Turkey while Israel maintains relations with Azerbaijan, a strong Turkish ally, to go against Iran.[81][82][83][84]
In 2018, Israel had also suggested, alongside Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, that U.S. President Donald Trump should improve relations with Russia and rethink about sanctions relating Ukrainian crisis, as Ukraine is Turkey’s ally. Although Putin continues to have positive relations with Erdogan.
When normalization agreement was signed by Serbia and Kosovo in 2020, Russia and Israel openly supported the deal which would allow Serbia to move embassy to Jerusalem while Kosovo would establish relations with Israel. In response, in August 2020, following the Abraham Accords in which Israel normalized relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, Russia did not endorse the deal but quietly approved the efforts by Israel to normalize the relations. Turkey opposed both moves.
However, Russia continues to have strong economic and political relations with both Iran and Turkey, and Russia continues to be skeptical about Israel’s special relations with the United States.[91][92][93][94]
Russia supports two-state solution for Israeli–Palestinian conflict and has relations with several Palestinian political parties.[95][96] Russia does not consider Hamas as a terrorist organization and continues to diplomatically negotiate with them.[97][98] Iran, Russia, and Turkey all voted in favor of United Nations General Assembly resolution ES-10/L.22 to declare the status of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital as “null and void.” Russia continues to seek multilateral relations in the Middle East with both Israel’s allies and rivals.
Russia obviously has its own interests and remains loyal to her longtime friends including the PA. At the same time, Russia cooperates with Israel and enables her to pursue her security interests and Israel refrains from criticizing Russia and lobbies for the lifting of US sanctions from time to time.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
Sebastien-If you’ve read Josephus’ account of what went on inside Jerusalem whn besieged by the Romans before , and even during,the destruction, it is mirrored by what is going on in Israel. A constant turmoil deliberately created by party leaders and stalwarts, who hate and are jealous of Netanyahu. Regardless of his presumed imperfections, he is indespensable at this particular period in Israeli history. No one else is capable of steering Israel between Scylla and Charbydis, although in the grip of envy, the wanna be’s are sure they can. They are novices at the international level,.
If G-B Forbid, Netanyahu is not re-elected with a safe majority, and one of the others becomes PM, I wonder how long it wll be before they get in such a fix, that they call Netanyahu back to bail them out. This is what happened in the early days of the State, when they recalled Ben Gurion to take over as Defence Minister, after the Lavon Affair, even at his advanced age. No one else had the fortitude to make the tough decisions needed.
And this is why Israel needs Netanyahu. Irrespective of the relative merits of the political stands of those who would replace him, when they even stick to them, when it comes to international diplomacy, they all strike me as clumsy. It would be trading somebody who clearly knows what he is about for somebody who needs to learn on the job at the most precarious time. I think the Israeli public largely sees that. I really can’t see Netanyahu leaving anytime soon.
So, the answer is yes to the question posed in the title. They’ve done it before. They might do it again. They have shown they can go either way. It all depends.
In this Jpost article from today we learn that Russia has worked to recover Israeli remains in Syria and Lebanon and also released an unknown video of Eli Cohen. Russia is opposed to the ICC investigation of Israel but regards Hezbollah as legitimate. There have are other disagreements as Russia does not recognize Israel’s green passports. However, not in this article or mentioned otherwise on this thread, Israel and Russia have a free trade agreement though Russia also has one with Iran and the Ukraine! Russia is allied with Armenia which is allied with Iran, as well. Israel is allied with Azerbaijan which is also allied with Turkey, which would like to destroy Israel and has good relations with Iran, which is trying to destroy Israel, as does Russia.
In short, Russia is in the middle. It’s everybody and nobody’s friend. Russia is for Russia, sentiment aside. China also plays both sides against the middle where Israel is concerned. And Israel’s position has gotten stronger. Only Iran is the mortal enemy that must be isolated and defeated at all costs.
@ Adam Dalgliesh:
Great find. I missed that when it was published. I now amended the article to include it.
Unless my eye skipped over something, I am amazed nobody mentioned this:
@ Ted Belman: I appreciate Dr. Maistrovsky taking the time to reply to my questions. I agree with nearly everything he says. One partial exception is his statement that ” The range of opinions is natural for any country and for Russia in particular.” I am not aware of any pro-Israel articles in Russia’s pro-government press. Perhaps Dr. Maistrovsky can direct us to some such articles.
The only English-language Russian newspaper that publishes pro-Israel articles is the Moscow News. However, the Moscow News is more or less the English-language edition of Russia’s only Russian-languageopposition newspaper (whose name escapes me).
This opposition newspaper, although it is grudgingly tolerated by the Russian government, definitely does not reflect government policy towards Israel or much of anything else. It also faces serious “headwinds” from the Russian state, including the murder of seven of its reporters over the past ten years or so. It cannot be said to reflect any sympathy with Israel in Russia’s pro-government press, which is nearly all of the Russian press with this one exception.
Alex Maistrovoy
We need to dispel the illusion that Russia is pro-Israel. I read RT and Sputnik, which are English-language newspapers published by the Russian government, nearly every day. Almost every issue has an article making false accusations against Israel by someone or other–sometimes an Arab writer, sometimes a British or American journalist, Maistrovsky is overly supportive of the Russian government and has unrealistic expectations that it will be helpful to Isral.
It is true that Putin has relegalized Judaism, which had been more or less banned in the Soviet period. In particular, he has allowed the Chabad organization to open or reopen synogogues all across Russia, and these synogogues are now attended at least on major Jewish holidays by many of the remaining Russian Jews. It is also true that Russia has normal diplomatic relations and extensive trade with Israel. But all of this is also true of all the West European countries. And these countries have unfreindly diplomatic positions with Israel and medias that are hostile to Israel. In this respect, Russian policies are close to those of Western Europe, although not quite as bad, it is true.
Russia cannot be expected to provide diplomatic or much the less military support for Israel because the two countries are on opposite sides in the Syrian war and towards the Iranian regime. This is why, I think there are these anti-Israel articles in Russia’s government-approved press.
There is also the problem, from the Russian point of view, that Israel has a close relationship with the United States, its main arms supplier, and always stands ready to support American interests in the region. Now that a secold cold war has erupted between Russia and the United States, that is a problem for Putin.