Putin's new Middle East strategy is highlighted by Hamas' release of Russian captives

 Putin's new Middle East strategy is highlighted by Hamas' release of Russian captives

Putin's new Middle East strategy is highlighted by Hamas' release of Russian captives

Latvia's RIGA Russian officials sent a list of eight Russian-Israeli individuals who were being held captive in Gaza to the Hamas delegation when they paid them a visit in late October. Russia asked the Palestinian terrorist organization to release these captives. Let's get started. According to state media, Hamas said right away that the list was going to receive extra consideration.

Senior Hamas member Moussa Abu Marzouq informed the RIA Novosti news agency, "We see Russia as our closest friend. We are giving great attention to this list as well as will process it carefully." "We will release anybody as soon as we find them."

Hamas has fulfilled its promise ever since

Three Russian prisoners held by Israel were freed. Among them was 25-year-old Roni Krivoi, a sound engineer employed at the Hamas-attacked performance. While the majority of the swaps were women and children, he was the first adult man with an Israeli passport to be released last Sunday.

Moscow emphasized that the United States, Qatar, and Egypt acted separately to achieve Krivoi's release as well as the later release of two additional Israeli-Russian dual nationals, Elena Trufanova, 53, and her mother, Irina Tati, 73. After doing this, there was a stop. In conflict and other releases.

Speaking on Telegram last Sunday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova credited "direct negotiations between Russian representatives as well as Hamas." Agreement," which he identified in Moscow, for "the release of a Russian passport holder"—ostensibly Krivoi, though she did not identify the hostage.

Zakharova expressed gratitude to the Hamas movement's leadership on Thursday for their prompt and receptive reaction to her urgent requests. "We will continue to strive for the early release of the seven Russians captured in the Gaza Strip."

One other sign of the developing détente between the Kremlin and Hamas is the preferential treatment given to Russian kidnappees. President Vladimir Putin has given the Palestinian militant group a facade of legitimacy at a time when many nations have labeled it a terrorist organization in an effort to portray himself as the architect and advocate of a new "multipolar world order".

Putin seems to have taken notice of Russia's increasing reliance on Iran, the primary backer of Hamas, after the group's October 7 strike within Israel, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people and the kidnapping of over 200 more. I have carefully altered my position in light of this. a provider of missiles and drones for Moscow's conflict in Ukraine.

At first, Russia showed "concern" over the incident, but Hamas was not denounced. Moreover, Moscow blamed Washington and the West for decades of inability to end the protracted Middle East conflict and suggested that Russia negotiate, rather than focusing on expressing sympathy for Israel. It is conceivable.

After the October 7 assaults, Hamas was shunned by most of the world, but Russia welcomed the Hamas delegation with open arms.

"The fact that Moscow invited palestinians at the end of October is tremendous because it is a way for Hamas to show that they are not some so-called terrorists," according to independent Russian researcher Ruslan Suleimanov. "They are being invited for official talks." Middle East, said during a conversation. "Thus, Hamas is highlighting Putin's unique role with this release, but only the US, Egypt, and Qatar are involved in the actual negotiations regarding the hostages and the ceasefire."

Additionally, Hamas has profited from Russia's political and diplomatic backing throughout its tenure as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, when its delegates obstructed resolutions spearheaded by the US against Hamas.

Though it could be convenient in the short run, Russia's support for Hamas is not without peril. According to commentators, it has already strained relations between Russia and Israel, endangering the Kremlin's renowned capacity to forge connections with all parties in the area, regardless of how far apart they may be. Detest it.

Furthermore, it's not clear whether Hamas even knows where the other captives on Russia's list are.

Furthermore, while Moscow has developed links with the Hamas political branch located in Qatar, to whose representatives the Russians have given their lists, Russia has no influence over the group's military arm that is really operating in Gaza and will ultimately decide whether to cooperate or not. Who has been let free now that the violence has stopped thanks to a truce negotiated by the United States?

Either way, Krivoi, the abducted sound engineer, was a lucky victim of Russia's outreach diplomacy. He was the first male captive to be rescued with an Israeli passport, and he was sent to a Tel Aviv hospital.

Trufanova and Tati, a southern Russian doctor who came to Israel five years ago to be with her daughter, were freed a few days later. The two were taken from Trufanova's Kibbutz Nir Oz residence. The October 7 assault claimed the life of her husband, Vitaly Trufanov, and her son, Alexander, remains incarcerated.

The captives were freed during the truce, but they were not included in the agreement, according to Hamas spokesperson Bassem Naim. They were released apart from the other hostages. This gesture is a thank you to Russia for its overall support of the Palestinian people's rights and struggle. Additionally, it seeks to strengthen these two-way ties in preparation for future collaboration.

Israel is the "other side" that Naim said other people on Russia's list "could disappear on." "But," he said, "if there is another ceasefire, we will continue the search because it is possible to release them."

After the incident, Putin did not only abstain from denouncing Hamas, but he also did not give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who for years had been regarded as one of his closest allies among international leaders—a call right away.

Putin's actions were seen by some observers of Russia as payback for Netanyahu's failure to publicly back Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and for turning down requests for refuge from thousands of Russians who had left Putin's regime over the previous two years. It was also seen as an expression of animosity for Israel. According to Suleimanov, Russia is also utilizing the conflict in Gaza to position itself as a partner of the global south against the West.

"Putin is partly pleased which right now the US security system as well as its relationships in the Middle East are facing their harshest test in years," he said. "Because it is the US that was promoting Israel's affiliation with the Arab world, but now it has no choice but to reconcile its relations with it through embracing a clearly pro-Israel stance."

"In the face of Western isolation, Russia is trying to portray themselves as an anti-Western force," Suleimanov said. "On the other hand it is also a test for Russia, since the nation cannot afford to lose Israel."

Russia has always claimed to be able to cooperate with any country in the Middle East, but the conflict in Ukraine has forced Putin to refocus his foreign policy, bringing the Kremlin closer to Iran. have fulfilled. Israel was very concerned about such partnership even before to the Hamas strike.

Putin's longtime speechwriter and political advisor Abbas Galyamov said the Russian president had abandoned his carefully calibrated stance.

According to Galyamov, "For years, he walked the tightrope between Israel as well as its Middle Eastern allies in the face of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, Iran as well as the Palestinians, but after October 7, he fell on the opposite side of Israel." "I see it with him losing the ability to implement independent foreign policy in the region as well as turning into an Iranian proxy."

"The Ayatollah probably said, 'We assisted you on your key issue, Ukraine, so now it's time to stop making noise and help us on our fundamentally important issue,'" he said.

According to Galyamov, Putin's decision to align with Hamas might jeopardize his intention in Ukraine, which is to prolong the conflict until Western support for the country starts to decline, which could occur if Donald Trump wins reelection to the presidency. may occur quickly.

"In that sense, there is a segment of the Republican Party that is separatist, their allies, even though they do not personally support them," Galyamov said. "They feel that their role is not to intervene in the conflict between the two post-Soviet states." Is not." But his approach goes too far in favor of Israel. Furthermore, Putin is undermining them by siding with Hamas because they will see that he is always promoting evil.