On May 21, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed support for the Israel-Hamas cease-fire and called for an urgent meeting of the Middle East Quartet to prevent a relapse into conflict. These comments built on other Russian statements that called earlier for a cease-fire in Gaza and a pathway toward a lasting peace. On May 14, President Vladimir Putin claimed that the Israel-Gaza conflict threatened Russia’s security and on May 19, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned Israel that further civilian casualties in Gaza would be “unacceptable.” The head of the Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky also reiterated Russia’s willingness to host negotiations on a Palestinian-Israeli settlement.

Russia’s response to the recent events in Gaza reflects its desire to expand its diplomatic role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. On March 31, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov restated Moscow’s wish to host Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas both expressed a willingness to accept Russian mediation. During the conflict, Russia engaged in shuttle diplomacy with the warring parties and external stakeholders to facilitate a cease-fire. After the deputy chairman of Hamas’s political bureau, Moussa Abu Marzouk, told Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov on May 12 that Hamas desired a cease-fire, Russia consulted with Egypt, Jordan, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on ending the conflict.

Russia’s power aspirations in the Middle East and diasporic links in Israel have shaped its mediation efforts. As the Syrian civil war winds down, Russia has tried to reinforce its standing as a great power in the MENA region through diplomatic assertiveness in other theaters such as Libya, the Persian Gulf and Israel-Palestine. Russian officials regard the Madrid Conference of 1991, which was co-sponsored by the Soviet Union and the United States to facilitate Israeli-Palestinian dialogue, as a significant achievement for Russia in the region and aspire to build on its legacy. The Russian diaspora community in Israel is sharply polarized on whether Israel was upholding its legitimate right to self-defense or responding disproportionately to Hamas’ rocket attacks.

Within Russian analyst circles, there is growing optimism about US-Russia cooperation on advancing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Russia’s willingness to consider diplomacy with the United States that bypasses the UN is intriguing, as Moscow repeatedly emphasized the UN’s supreme authority as a conflict arbiter during the Gaza conflict. Kirill Semenov, a non-resident expert at Russian International Affairs Council, told Al-Monitor, “Russia, together with the United States, can play a role in the resumption of negotiations between Israel and Palestine.” Semenov does not believe that the poor state of US-Russia relations will impede cooperation on Israel and Palestine, as the two countries negotiated the boundaries of a de-escalation zone in southern Syria in 2017 even as bilateral relations remained very tense.