Despite improving relations with Israel, Russia has maintained its support for the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the broader Palestinian cause. Few, however, ask why Moscow continues its backing of the Palestinians to the extent it does or how it reconciles this with its new and stronger ties with Israel. By contrast, US-Israeli relations attract far more media attention to the point of wondering whether the Barack Obama administration — apparently no longer willing to conceal its well-known disdain for Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu — would actually veto a UN Security Council resolution sought by the Palestinians should they force the issue of recognition of Palestine.
In recent years, Moscow has considerably improved relations with Israel. Bilateral trade more than doubled between 2009 and 2013, to more than $3.5 billion, and like Turkey, Israel appears set to increase food exports to Russia after Moscow cut off US and European exporters in retaliation for Western financial sector sanctions. For perspective, in 2013 UN statistics put Russia’s trade with Egypt at close to $3 billion and with the PA at slightly less than $1 million. Russian-speaking Israelis and large tourist flows from Russia to Israel have established strong cultural and people-to-people contacts. Of course, Israel’s Russian-speaking foreign minister, Avigdor Liberman, maintains close and regular diplomatic contacts with Russia.
