Israel expressed "deep disappointment" Thursday over a meeting the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev held this week in Syria with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, saying the organization must play a role in peace efforts.
Calling Hamas "a terror organization in every way," Israel's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it expected Russia to stand by Israel in its struggle against Hamas.
"Hamas is a terror organization whose declared goal is the destruction of the state of Israel...Hamas is responsible for the murder of hundreds of innocent civilians, among them immigrants from the Soviet Union and also Russian citizens."
Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, make up a quartet of Middle East mediators. The U.S., EU and Israel consider Hamas a terrorist group. Russia insists that Hamas should not be isolated.
But Israel is not the only country that has expressed disappointment over the Russian president's trip to Syria. On Wednesday U.S. State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley told reporters that Washington was cautious over any nuclear deal that included Syria. His comments came after reports surfaced that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad had discussed the possibility of nuclear collaboration in Damascus earlier this week.
Russian news agencies quoted Assad as saying that he and Medvedev had discussed the possibility of building power plants, including nuclear ones, in Syria.
In September 2007, Israeli warplanes bombed a site in eastern Syria, which the U.S. later claimed was a nuclear installation aimed at building an atomic bomb with aid from North Korea.
Also this week, Turkey and Russia agreed on a $20 billion project in which Moscow will build and own a controlling stake in Turkey's first nuclear power plant, as the two Cold War-era rivals try to build a strategic partnership.
The Middle East was a staging area for Cold War conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union for many years until the USSR collapsed in 1991. Are the Russians making a comeback into the region?
Recently there have been debates and articles published warning about the revival of Cold War-style regional confrontation due to Russia's recent activities in the Middle East; I disagree. Russia has no interest in repositioning itself as a regional superpower, nor does it have the desire to maintain a military strategic foothold in the region. Unlike the United States and China, Russia is not dependent on the Middle East for its energy supplies. The Russians are interested in economic opportunities, and for the past several years Russia has been re-establishing economic links and developing new interests in the region, including cooperation with Israel.
Although Russia differs with the US and Israel over its policy towards Syria, Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas, its objective is to establish regional stability. For instance, Russia and the United States share the objective of the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine and agree on many issues about Iran's nuclear file. Russia's engagement in the region should be viewed positively. The advantage Russia has over the United States is its ability to talk to all parties. The Russians are back, but this time in a positive way.
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Apparently it's okay to post the victorious actions where Syrians are killed by Israel but not the ones reporting Americans being killed. Interesting.
"Israel Air Force F-16 multi-role fighters intercepted and downed two Syrian MiG-29 fighter-jets in 2001.
The pilots of the MiG-29s were identified as Maj. Arshad Midhat Mubarak and Capt. Ahmad Al Khatib.".
* Interior Comms Electrician David N. Skolak, USN
* Cryptologic Tech 1st Class John C. Smith Jr, USN
* Chief Cryptologic Tech Melvin D. Smith, USN
* Postal Clerk 2nd Class John C. Spicher, USN
* Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Alexander N. Thompson, USN
* Cryptologic Tech 3rd Class Thomas R. Thornton, USN
* Cryptologic Tech 3rd Class Phillipe C. Tiedtke, USN
* Lt. Stephen S. Toth, USN
* Cryptologic Tech 1st Class Frederick J. Walton, USN
Unfortunately, the USA can't be seen as any kind of equal power-broker in the region, with its long history of partisanship for one nation above all others. The trend among many nations these days (not just in the Middle East) is to bypass the major powers by making bilateral agreements among themselves for mutual benefit & prosperity. Everyone will benefit in the region if the Russians can play a positive role by promoting the kind of stability that fosters trade & useful associations among all. In contrast, the American govt. offers many long decades of backing an untenable occupation in Palestine that promotes nothing but strife for everybody in the entire region as well as internationally. There are too many pitfalls & shortcomings with maintaining the status quo; it can't be imposed as easily as it once was. Is change coming? Perhaps, it certainly is needed, but we will have to wait & see. I
He said Russia would also supply Damascus with anti-tank weapons but did not specify their type.**
MOSCOW/JERUSALEM (Reuters)
תחיו תאהבו תצחקו
Besides we already know how badly Syrians operate their Russian equipment. Let them buy their way into even deeper economic obsolescence.
Holding grudges common enough, but counterproductive
Ah...well. therein lies the problem. Seek economic opportunities for yourself, regardless of its impact on freedom, democracy and peace elsewhere.
"Although Russia differs with the US and Israel over its policy towards Syria, Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas, its objective is to establish regional stability."
Ah again! We all know about the Russian idea of stability! Just ask the Georgians!
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LE14Ak03.html
When addressing one of the numerous Syrian-Turkish business forums, Assad once spoke of an "economic space" that "one day will be complete, [where] we will then be linking the Mediterranean to the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea and the Arab Gulf". He added, "When we link these four seas, we will become the obligatory connector for this entire world, in terms of investment and transport."
Syria could serve as a hub for joint investments in energy, industry, agriculture, telecommunications, banking and technology as well as a route for Arab and Asian oil and gas to European markets via the Mediterranean. Turkey could then become a connecting point for electricity networks between Europe and the Arab and Asian regions.
Transportation of goods by rail is already underway from the Iraqi port city of Um Qasr in the Arabian Gulf to the Syrian port city of Latakia, which lies on the Mediterranean. There is also a project to bring the Kirkuk-Banias pipeline into operation with a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day (bpd). Another pipeline is in the works, with a capacity of 1.4 million bpd that will link the Iraqi gas plant in Akkas to a Syrian plant linked to the Jordanian and Egyptian plants which would branching out to Lebanon and Europe.
The Syrians believe they are capable of becoming the arrival and distribution point for goods coming from the Mediterranean, the Gulf and neighboring countries, something raised before the Turks at a summit in Istanbul on May 8, and with Medvedev during his recent visit to Damascus on May 11. To do that, the Syrians need peace in the Middle East, something that is becoming increasingly far-fetched given the inability of the Obama administration to apply any pressure on Israel. This is where Russian diplomacy can come into play.
You're seriously misinformed.
Russian Federation has every intention to re assert their global strategic position around the world. The expression thereof can be read almost daily in various government-controlled Russian publications.
Doubt? Examine Russian diplomatic initiatives in Asia, Africa and South America.
The fact is ever since Putin came to power he worked very hard to raise Russian global political and military footprint around the world. This included resuming nuclear bomber overflights near U.S., negotiations for military bases in Africa and South America,
re- establishing contacts with Cuba, Shanghai Conference military alliance, rebuilding of Russian military and navy etc.
And I support it. The world will benefit from a multi-lateral centers of power. W.Europe is too addicted to U.S. military umbrella, China is just getting established, Russia can now serve as ( much smaller than before) counter-balance to U.S. domination. At least until China establishes a larger global profile.
It seems Russia has decided to increase its presence in the Middle East via its old Soviet era client--Syria.
And in the process sell them billions of dollars of military equipment ( slightly outmoded as usual) and make some serious dough, hey why not.
*Dmitry Medvedev and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad had discussed the possibility of nuclear collaboration in Damascus earlier this week. *
It's okay, Israel will carry out Operation Orchard Parte Deux!
It's okay, Israel carries out Operation Orchard Parte Deux!
To Israelis there are good terrorists who kill Palestinians and there are bad terrorists who kill Jews
The Russians are probably just what this region needs to come to its senses
And how do you think the Arabs felt about that?
Anything that inhibits the Israeli war machine is good for humanity.