Abbas in Moscow: a different visit

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s most recent visit to Moscow is different than any previous in terms of the timing, content of the talks and agreements and the possibilities it holds for the future.

Abbas went to Moscow with the most likely scenario in mind: the failure of the negotiations and the possibility of the Palestinian Authority falling into a cycle of siege and isolation, as it has in the past. Abbas went to Moscow while listening to the daily calls of the Palestinians demanding release from the ‘exclusive U.S.’ management and sponsorship of negotiations and the transfer of the entire issue to the UN Security Council, or at least the international Quartet, in which Moscow and Washington were supposed to act as co-sponsors before the United States monopolised it. The US is employing this sponsorship to serve Israeli security interests and calculations.

Therefore, the Palestinian president’s visit was an invitation for Moscow to play a more effective and active role in the negotiations and management of the political process. On the other hand President Vladimir Putin’s stressing of the “historical legacy” of relations between the two sides was interesting, as it must be preserved and built upon. There must also be a focus on the development of a network of economic and trade relations and bilateral cooperation between the two sides.

The Palestinian Authority is looking to attract Russian investment in gas exploration and extraction. There has been word that the giant Russian oil and gas company Gazprom plans to invest $1 billion in gas exploration and extraction from a field near Ramallah in the West Bank and on the coast of the Gaza Strip. This implicitly implies that Palestinian-Russian relations will, for the first time ever, have a strong economic, financial, and commercial infrastructure.

Moreover, three agreements in the field of health, interior issues and customs were signed during the visit aiming to facilitate the flow of economic and commercial exchanges. More importantly by means of these agreements, Russia – which had almost left the peace process and its role in the Palestinian arena – finds itself approaching the Mediterranean.

Israel is closely monitoring the remarkable development in the Palestinian-Russian relationship, and has been developing advanced relations of its own with Russia during Putin’s term. However, they cannot do much to disrupt this relationship and hinder its goals as Russia is a great power whose role and weight is growing on a regional and international level, and Tel Aviv needs a strong relationship with Russia in order to deal with many of the issues on the top of its agenda, starting with the Iranian issue, the arming of Israel’s opponents. Also, the trade relations between Russia and Israel do not allow Tel Aviv to deal with the ‘Russian bear’ in the same way it did during the Cold War and the two poles, two camps system.

In any case, Abbas’s visit to Moscow could be a prelude and preparation for overcoming the stage that followed the failure of John Kerry’s mission and American political, economic and financial pressures. We could also say that the road to Moscow could help pave the way for the completion of Palestine’s membership in various international forums and platforms. Above all, it could be the beginning of the Palestinian ‘Geneva 1’ after the Iranian and Syrian Geneva.

It is undoubtedly an important visit in the context of diversifying the sources of Palestinian force. We hope that more visits and agreements with other regional and international capitals follow in order for us not to keep all our cards in Washington and in order for us not to give in to Sadat’s destructive theory; 99 per cent of the solution’s cards are in America’s hands.

Washington succeeded, in light of a unipolar system and the United States’ dominance of the international system after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the socialist camp, in capturing sole sponsorship over the negotiations file. However, with recent developments in the balance of international and regional forces, it is no longer acceptable for Washington to maintain its monopoly over the issues, and the time has come to reflect on new, international balances on the new path of Palestinian negotiations and its issues. Will Abbas’s visit to Moscow establish such a scenario?

This is a translation of the text published by Ad Dustour newspaper on 27 January, 2014

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.