Putin on Side of Sharon

Some weeks ago, Sergey Mironov, President of the Russian Federation Council, traveled to the Middle East, where he caused consternation. After meting with Prime Minister Sharon of Israel, this Russian canceled a planned meting with the Palestinian leader Arafat. Mironov, once a local politician in St. Petersburg, who was elevated by President Putin to the third highest position in the state, explained his decision not to meet with Yasser Arafat, by saying that "terror acts in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Israel all spring from the same roots" and are nurtured from the same financial sources. "There is no good terrorism," Putin’s confidant told the Palestinians.

In Moscow, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov was shocked by this act of one-sided solidarity with Israel, Visible angered, Ivanov said that this did not mean a change of Russia’s official policy in the Near East. Russia stood for dialogue with both sides, as always. After all, for more than ten years Moscow has been promoting the peace process in the Near East, even if it does no more than quietly play second fiddle behind Washington. It was only since 1992 that the Kremlin resumed diplomatic relations with Israel, that were broken off after the six-day war in 1967, when (the Soviet Union) supported Israel’s enemies. The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, which stands by the traditional pro-Arab policy of the USSR era, was pained by the Council President’s diplomatic slip. Although prompted by diplomatic inexperience, the faux pas of Putin’s man pointed all too clearly to the Russian President’s shift of Moscow’s policy in the Near East.

Putin bets on Israel – and he leaves to his Ministry of Foreign Affairs to maintain the pro-Arab rhetoric and the nurturing of old connections. By contrast, his link with Israel’s Sharon and Israel Right forces is based on shared views and interests, according to the slogan – "Your Palestine -Our Chechnya". Putin stresses Israel’s right to protect itself against terrorism.

This is not to say that Russia does not support Palestinian self-determination and the right to their own statehood. Even if the Foreign Minister commented in the wake of the suicide bombing that "questions of security and terrorism cannot be solved by military means", and that political dialogue was the sole way out of the crisis, a Russian radio commentator was justified in asking as to what is Russia doing in Chechnya for the past two years.

At a recent service in a Moscow synagogue, held for the victims of terrorism, Sharon addressed the 1,500 faithful by video transmission, saying: "We here in Israel note how our friend, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, and the Russian people, stand up and fight terrorism!"

However, such arguments are immaterial at this time, when the Kremlin seeks to cement an Anti-Terror Triad with Tel Aviv and Washington. Moreover, Putin’s posit9ve attitude Israel also has other reasons. In his first year as President, Putin demoted two of his most influential personalities of Russian politics, the so-called "Oligarchs" – Vladimir Gussinski and Boris Berezovski, and forced them to go abroad. Both are not only ethnic Jews but also possess Israeli citizenship –moreover, Gussinski was Chairman of Russia. In the West they were eager to interpret Putin’s action (which these two helped to secure his power) as undemocratic and anti-Semitic. In a counter-move Putin sought contacts with Jewish organizations, primarily of an Orthodox nature, and took part in a festivity at a Moscow synagogue. When the position of Chief Rabbi of Russia was to be filled, Kremlin managed to have a loyalist, Berl Lazar elected in preference to Gussinski’s candidate. Since then, Lazar praises the flourishing of Jewish communities in Russia, under President Putin.

Hence the Russian president had freed himself of suspicions of anti-Semitic motives in his domestic policies. His foreign policy is increasingly pro-Western – and therefore also pro-Israeli. In his entourage, it is being said, time and time again, that Russia stands on the side of civilization and opposes the forces which seek to bomb modern societies back to the Stone Age.

Since the fall of communism, however, over 700,000 Jews left the former Soviet Union for Israel. Together with those who migrated earlier, they now make up approximately one million Israeli citizens, some 16% of the country’s population. (Considering that Israel’s population is said to be about 3.5 million, the proportion of Russian Jews would amount to approximately 30%.)

This means that hundreds of thousands of family and friendship connections exist between Russia and Israel. No country receives as many Russian tourists as does Israel, Russian artists perform in Israel to full houses. "Russian" Israelis serve in Israel’s Army, Russian born Israeli politicians appear regularly on Russian TV and talk in Russian about current affairs. One of these regulars is Nathan Scharanski, Israeli Minister of Housing and the Interior Minister before that. Soon after his election, Putin invited Scharanski to Moscow for talks and there and then Scharanski made arrangements to have Putin have contacts with Israeli Right.

Regardless of the exodus of Jewish citizens to Israel, American and Western Europe, in today’s Russia, the Jewish presence in business, in politics, in culture and the media, in previous months, these people used the radio station "Moscow Echo" to decry as mendacious and shameful the pro-Palestinian position of Western European politicians and media, but also that of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Nationalists and Communist politicians are the main defenders of Palestine. In the recent May Day parade, the extreme political left – predominately nationalist and blatantly anti-Semitic – featured a poster saying "Putin is also a Jew".

In the Arabic world there are hopes for a more active Russian presence in the Near East- as a counter-weight to Washington. Arafat’s emissary was recently in Moscow to argue the case and was warmly received at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Russia’s special envoy, Vdovin, on the visit to the Near East, makes balanced statements. Putin too, said at the time of Arafat’s arrest that his fate had him worried.

However, the Lord of the Kremlin will never stand by Yasser Arafat. This would bring him no gain.

Click here to return to August 2002 index.