The protests in Lebanon have grabbed the attention of Russian officials and social media users. In many ways, both groups have projected the developments in the Middle East onto Russia’s own domestic realities.

Perhaps this was the reason it took Moscow a while to voice an opinion on the dynamic developments in Lebanon. On Nov. 5, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who is also the Kremlin’s special envoy for the Middle East and Africa, met with Amal Abou Zeid, an adviser to Lebanon's President Michel Aoun. Following the encounter, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it regards any external attempts to interfere in the Lebanese affairs as inadmissible.

“[Russia] stressed its support for Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence, unity and stability, and reaffirmed its strict and consistent position that all the topical issues on the national agenda must be addressed by the Lebanese people within the legal framework, via an inclusive dialogue in the interest of civil peace and accord,” the statement read.

It continued, “Russia considers unacceptable any external attempts to interfere in the Lebanese affairs or to play out geopolitical scenarios using and artificially escalating the existing difficulties faced by the friendly Lebanon.”