Russia, historically viewed as a major stakeholder and player in the Middle East since the Cold War, is seeing its leverage eroding as the Hamas-Israel war enters its third week, and the Kremlin is absent despite attempts to mediate the conflict.
While Russian pro-government experts relay diplomatic signals from Moscow, they also recognize that Moscow has little real chance of acting as an intermediary, and by way of explanation assert that "neither Israel nor Hamas has a request for mediation." In reality, Russia has long since excluded itself from efforts at an Israeli-Palestinian settlement. Moreover, amid the current buildup of US combat capabilities in the Mediterranean in support of Israel, Moscow, for the first time since sending troops to Syria in 2015, has no means of exercising deterrence in the region.
A pro-Palestinian message?
On Oct. 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia could help mediate between Israel and Palestine because the Russian side has "good" and "traditional" relations with both sides, and Moscow could not be suspected of "playing along."
