Vladimir Putin Widens Bears Footprint in Middle East
Visiting Israel and the West Bank, Russian President Vladimir Putin establishes new rules of engagement between regional adversaries. Brushing off request for cooperation with the "U.S./Israeli Union" on sanctioning the hell out of Iran, President Putin reiterated his position of a negotiated resolution to the Iranian nuclear question is the only solution.
At a state dinner later on Monday, Israeli President Shimon Peres took his best shot at putting the squeeze on Putin. Making a heartfelt request that he "raise his voice" against a nuclear Iran. Putin's response? "Russia has a "national interest" to secure peace and quiet in Israel". Further elaboration did not follow.
If Prime Minister Benjamine Netanyahu had any illusions the Russian leader could be convinced or persuaded to alter his vision for dealing with the region, he was sadly awakened to a harsh reality: Putin ain't no punk so he can't be punked.
The clear message we read from Russia's actions, positions and statements is the West have screwed over the region long enough and its time for others to take the lead. The Russian President went on to hold talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, after hanging out at the church built over Jesus' traditional birth grotto in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.
Russia, being part of the so-called Quartet of Mideast "jawboners" , along with the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, has always seemed ready to support the Palestinians. Unfortunately, the United States has traditionally dominated the "go nowhere" mediating between Israelis and Palestinians. After producing decades of failure in the region, apparently the Russians feel times are changing and Russia is changing with the times.
Bottom line: The Israelis got zilch from the Putin visit, considering Putin is now holding all the power cards in the Middle East. On Iran, forget about it! On Syria, forget about it! On Israeli security concerns, so what was the message! After telling Netanyahu the best thing Israel could do is to restart peace talks with the Palestinians, the Putin visit actually amounted to less than zilch.
U.S. interest didn't fair any better. The U.S.' image got seriously "dissed" from the Putin Israel visit, considering Russia continues to maintained good relations with both the vilified Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. If talks can ever be restarted between the occupiers and the occupied its evident now, the Russians will play a significant role in making that happen.
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