Palestine–Russia relations
Encyclopedia
Palestine–Russia relations is the bilateral relationship between Russia
and the State of Palestine
.
The history of Palestine–Russia (and between 1917–1991, Palestine–Soviet Union) relations has been long and complex. For a number of historical and political reasons, it has been deeply interwoven with Russian (and between 1917–1991, Soviet) relations
with the Zionist-Israeli enterprise, Arab nationalism
, and Third World
national liberation movements in general. However, at the same time, particularly between 1956 and 1990, Soviet-Palestinian relations were also part and parcel of the then ongoing Soviet-American confrontation, and even after the Cold War
ended, the international and ideological role and importance of the Russian-Palestinian relationship always far exceeded its local and regional limitations. This relationship has continued even today. Russia is still an important player in the Middle East peace process and is a member of the Middle East Quartet
.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917 which put Vladimir Lenin
and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
in power, the Soviet Union
became mostly Communist and officially atheist. In 1922 the Soviet government decided to give strong support to the Palestinian Arabs. In fact, in 1930, the Executive Committee of the Communist International described Zionism as “the expression of the exploiting, and great power oppressive strivings, of the Jewish bourgeoisie.” Also, the Communist Party of Palestine, founded by the Jewish immigrants in 1919, when it was admitted to the Comintern, was strongly advised to “support the national freedom of the Arab population against the British-Zionist occupation.” But even so the Communist Party of Palestine
had little political power and the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin
was mostly concerned with its own problems during the 1920s and 1930s that it had little impact in the Middle East policy.
But with the end of World War II, the Soviet Union emerged as one of the victors and as a result it became a superpower
. This made it able to project its power into regions were it thought was never possible before. The Soviet Union along with most Middle Eastern Communist parties denounced the partition of Palestine. But in the end the U.S.S.R. decided to recognize the new country of Israel
. In fact Soviet policymakers were very pragmatic about the Middle East. Without ever changing its official anti-Zionist stance, from late 1944, until 1948 and even later, Joseph Stalin
adopted a pro-Zionist foreign policy, apparently believing that the new country would be socialist
and would speed the decline of British
influence in the Middle East
. But with Israel eventually turning into a pro-Western and American
ally, this caused a great shift. Soon the Soviet government began to regard Zionism as an enemy and started supporting the Arabs more than ever. The official position of the Soviet Union and its satellite states and agencies was that Zionism was a tool used by the Jews and Americans for "racist imperialism
." In fact the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
defined Zionism as "militant chauvinism, racism, anti-Communism and anti-Sovietism,... overt and covert fight against freedom movements and the USSR."
But the Soviet Union didn't even support the rights of the Palestinians as more openly and was very cautious about the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) (founded in 1964) and the Fatah
party (founded in 1958) during the 1960s. The Soviet government was very unhappy about the first two PLO leaders. Still the Soviet Union established some contact with the PLO leadership in 1964 and in 1965 they established contacts with the General Union of Palestinian Students
and the General Union of Palestinian Women
. But it was only after the Six Day War which ended with the defeat of the Arabs by Israel in June 1967 that the Soviet Union took a more favorable view on the PLO. When Yasser Arafat
visited Moscow in 1968, Moscow began to see him as their man and the following year Arafat was elected as chairman of the PLO and relations with the Palestinians were firmly established.
By the 1970s with the loss of Soviet influence in Egypt, relations with the Palestinian militants were strengthened further and soon Soviet arms and training were sent to Palestinian groups. The KGB
was responsible for arming and training most of the Palestinian groups. In fact, it was the KGB
which decided which militant groups should receive the money and weapons. By 1972 the Soviets had declared the Palestinian movement the vanguard of the Arab liberation movement. In the summer of 1974 a PLO embassy was opened in Moscow.
During this time Yasser Arafat had addressed the United Nations
and soon the PLO was granted observer status at the UN in 1974. In 1975, the Soviet Union sponsored and voted in support of the UN General Assembly Resolution 3379
which equated Zionism with racism (the resolution, however, was later revoked with Resolution 4686
in 1991, which the Soviet Union voted for and proposed as well). After the Camp David Accords in September 1978, the Soviet President, Leonid Brezhnev
, declared that “there is only one road” to a real settlement, “the road of full liberation of all Arab lands occupied by Israel in 1967, of full and unambiguous respect for the lawful rights of the Arab people of Palestine, including the right to create their own independent state.” At the end of Arafat's visit to Moscow, 29 October to 1 November 1978, the Soviet authorities finally recognized the PLO as the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.” Nevertheless the Soviet Union urged the PLO and Yasser Arafat to accept the provisions of resolution 242 and recognize Israel and start Peace talks.
In March 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev
assumed power and he started his programs of Glasnost
and Perestroika
which resulted in many changes. The Soviet Union began to reduce support for Third World and other leftist guerrilla movements and urged them to embrace reconciliation. The Soviet Government tried unsuccessfully to encourage Yasser Arafat
and the PLO to recognize Israel before the Palestinian Declaration of Independence
on November 15, 1988 in Algiers
, Algeria
. But despite Soviet condemnations of it along with the U.S., the Soviet Union became one of the first countries to recognize
the new State of Palestine
on November 18, 1988 and officially established full diplomatic relations with it by the end of 1989. But by the early 1990s as the Soviet Union started to dissolve, it began to increase its relations with Israel. Also many elements of the PLO along with Arafat had supported Iraq in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and as a result they soon gradually lost support of the Soviet Government.
The Soviet Union itself was disbanded after the August Coup in 1991. As a result the Palestinian Liberation Organization lost one of its main sponsors. Also some members of the PLO and Yasser Arafat were very sympathetic to the coup plotters and this had greatly angered Gorbachev and the Soviet leaders. This caused the Soviet government to give up support for the PLO. As a result the PLO began peace talks with Israel in 1991. These things coupled with the growing Islamist trend in Palestinian society and militancy weakened the pro-Russian Palestinian militant groups most of whom took on a Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist line.
, Vladimir Putin
and Dmitry Medvedev
, Russia has been balanced and moderate in its dealings with both Israel and the Palestinians and it favors peace between both sides. Russia supported the Middle East Peace Process and the Oslo agreements in 1993. Yasser Arafat had been a frequent visitor to Moscow during the 1990s until 2001. In fact, Russia was one of the countries that voted in 1998 to give Palestine more rights at the UN despite the opposition by both Israel and the United States. Arafat's successor Mahmoud Abbas
has even stronger connections to Russia. In fact Abbas had earned his degree at the Patrice Lumumba University
in Moscow
where he had earned his Candidate of Sciences degree (the Soviet equivalent of a PhD
). Abbas has visited Russia on several occasions and has met with Russian leaders.
In March 2006, the Russia-Hamas talks began, when Russia
n Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov met with Hamas
leader Khaled Meshaal to discuss the future of the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
after Hamas became the majority party of the Palestinian National Authority
Legislative Council, having won a majority of seats in the Palestinian elections
. On February 10, 2006 Russian President Vladimir Putin
, according to Kommersant
journalist Andrey Kolesnikov and a Spanish parliament member, said that he does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization. During the talks in March 2006, Lavrov called on Hamas to comply with the earlier commitments signed by the PLO, and he reiterated those requirements but Hamas
refused. On March 7, 2006 Russia expressed hope that Hamas would consider supporting the Road map for peace
and the peace plan proposed by Saudi Arabia
, but it did not materialize. Israeli spokesman stated: "They (Hamas) did not accept any of those principles ... therefore I don't know where they (Russia) draw their optimism from Hamas changing its ways." The invitation and the talks have caused controversy wherein Russia's intentions in changing its views towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
were questioned by commentators in the United States especially among the neoconservatives. Russia was harshly critical of the 2008-2009 Israel-Gaza Conflict and condemned Israeli actions.". Russia also sent 60 tons of tent, medicines, and food. Also President Medvedev ordered extra humanitarian aid to be sent to the Palestinians. Russia still continues to support the creation of a Palestinian State and for a lasting peace in the Middle East.
Recently after a meeting between the Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov and the Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki
on December 9, 2009, both Russia and Palestine have said that their relations are close and friendly and that Russia will continue to assist Palestine in all fields. On January 26, 2010, Mahmoud Abbas
met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
to discuss the situation in the Middle East. He said that while some progress has been made on peace, it is still not solved yet. President Medvedev said that he hopes to use Russia's influence to solve the Middle East conflict. He also mentioned the long-standing, friendly and deep-rooted ties between both Russia
and Palestine
. On March 19, 2010 the Middle East Quartet which was composed of the European Union
, Russia
, the United States
, and the United Nations
called for a resumption of peace talks between both Israel and the Palestinians. The Quartet also called for Israel to freeze settlement construction and resume peace talks with the Palestinians. After the Gaza flotilla raid
on May 31, 2010, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
called for a thorough investigation of the incident and said that, in any case, the deaths of people are irreversible. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
condemned the assault and expressed concern that it was conducted in international waters. On June 8, Putin condemned the acts and said it has to be investigated specially, especially since it was on international waters. The Foreign Ministries of Russia and the EU adopted a joint statement concerning the flotilla attack, which correlates with the UN Security Council activity in the situation. Also Russia
's Foreign Ministry expressed "condemnation and profound concern" over the incident and called for a full investigation. It also called the "use of arms against civilians and the detention of the vessels on the high seas without any legal grounds constitute a gross violation of generally accepted international legal norms." The head of the Russia
n State Duma
Foreign Affairs Committee, Konstantin Kosachev, called for an "urgent meeting" of the Middle East Quartet to discuss the incident. On April 28, 2011 after the rival Palestinian factions Fatah
and Hamas
signed a deal to form a national unity government ahead of the national elections, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexei Sazonov said that Russia was pleased with the fact that the Palestinians were able to reach an accord and that Russia hoped that with the implementation of the accord there will be hope for peace in the Middle East. He also said that Russia always supports the national aspirations of the Palestinian people.
On November 27, 2011, Russian President Medvedev sent Palestinian President an official letter of support for Palestinian statehood.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and the State of Palestine
State of Palestine
Palestine , officially declared as the State of Palestine , is a state that was proclaimed in exile in Algiers on 15 November 1988, when the Palestine Liberation Organization's National Council adopted the unilateral Palestinian Declaration of Independence...
.
The history of Palestine–Russia (and between 1917–1991, Palestine–Soviet Union) relations has been long and complex. For a number of historical and political reasons, it has been deeply interwoven with Russian (and between 1917–1991, Soviet) relations
with the Zionist-Israeli enterprise, Arab nationalism
Arab nationalism
Arab nationalism is a nationalist ideology celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language and literature of the Arabs, calling for rejuvenation and political union in the Arab world...
, and Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
national liberation movements in general. However, at the same time, particularly between 1956 and 1990, Soviet-Palestinian relations were also part and parcel of the then ongoing Soviet-American confrontation, and even after the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
ended, the international and ideological role and importance of the Russian-Palestinian relationship always far exceeded its local and regional limitations. This relationship has continued even today. Russia is still an important player in the Middle East peace process and is a member of the Middle East Quartet
Quartet on the Middle East
The Quartet on the Middle East, sometimes called the Diplomatic Quartet or Madrid Quartet or simply the Quartet, is a foursome of nations and international and supranational entities involved in mediating the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Quartet are the United Nations, the...
.
History
Russia had become very involved with the Middle East in the late 18th century when a treaty was signed in 1774 which officially made the Russian Empire the protector of Orthodox Christians. Orthodox Christianity had been the religion of the majority of Palestinians until well after the Islamic conquest, and has remained that of the majority of Christians in Syria-Palestine. But there was almost no sense of Russian involvement in the Middle East because Russia was mostly concerned with checking the powers of both Turkey and Persia.After the Russian Revolution of 1917 which put Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
in power, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
became mostly Communist and officially atheist. In 1922 the Soviet government decided to give strong support to the Palestinian Arabs. In fact, in 1930, the Executive Committee of the Communist International described Zionism as “the expression of the exploiting, and great power oppressive strivings, of the Jewish bourgeoisie.” Also, the Communist Party of Palestine, founded by the Jewish immigrants in 1919, when it was admitted to the Comintern, was strongly advised to “support the national freedom of the Arab population against the British-Zionist occupation.” But even so the Communist Party of Palestine
Communist Party of Palestine
The Communist Party of Palestine was a communist party in Palestine 1922-1923. It was formed through a split in the Po‘alei Tziyon which lead to the formation of the Jewish Communist Party and another faction forming the Palestinian Communist Party). A major difference between the two parties was...
had little political power and the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
was mostly concerned with its own problems during the 1920s and 1930s that it had little impact in the Middle East policy.
But with the end of World War II, the Soviet Union emerged as one of the victors and as a result it became a superpower
Superpower
A superpower is a state with a dominant position in the international system which has the ability to influence events and its own interests and project power on a worldwide scale to protect those interests...
. This made it able to project its power into regions were it thought was never possible before. The Soviet Union along with most Middle Eastern Communist parties denounced the partition of Palestine. But in the end the U.S.S.R. decided to recognize the new country of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. In fact Soviet policymakers were very pragmatic about the Middle East. Without ever changing its official anti-Zionist stance, from late 1944, until 1948 and even later, Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
adopted a pro-Zionist foreign policy, apparently believing that the new country would be socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and would speed the decline of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
influence in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. But with Israel eventually turning into a pro-Western and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ally, this caused a great shift. Soon the Soviet government began to regard Zionism as an enemy and started supporting the Arabs more than ever. The official position of the Soviet Union and its satellite states and agencies was that Zionism was a tool used by the Jews and Americans for "racist imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
." In fact the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
defined Zionism as "militant chauvinism, racism, anti-Communism and anti-Sovietism,... overt and covert fight against freedom movements and the USSR."
But the Soviet Union didn't even support the rights of the Palestinians as more openly and was very cautious about the Palestine Liberation Organization
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
(PLO) (founded in 1964) and the Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
party (founded in 1958) during the 1960s. The Soviet government was very unhappy about the first two PLO leaders. Still the Soviet Union established some contact with the PLO leadership in 1964 and in 1965 they established contacts with the General Union of Palestinian Students
General Union of Palestinian Students
The General Union of Palestinian Students is an organization run by Palestinian students since the early 1920s. It is generally considered one of the first Palestinian institutions started. It was officially launched in Cairo in 1959....
and the General Union of Palestinian Women
General Union of Palestinian Women
The General Union of Palestinian Women or ' is the official representative of Palestinian women within the Palestine Liberation Organization . It was established in 1965 as a body in the PLO with the goal of creating an active role for women in the social, economic and political spheres of the...
. But it was only after the Six Day War which ended with the defeat of the Arabs by Israel in June 1967 that the Soviet Union took a more favorable view on the PLO. When Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
visited Moscow in 1968, Moscow began to see him as their man and the following year Arafat was elected as chairman of the PLO and relations with the Palestinians were firmly established.
By the 1970s with the loss of Soviet influence in Egypt, relations with the Palestinian militants were strengthened further and soon Soviet arms and training were sent to Palestinian groups. The KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
was responsible for arming and training most of the Palestinian groups. In fact, it was the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
which decided which militant groups should receive the money and weapons. By 1972 the Soviets had declared the Palestinian movement the vanguard of the Arab liberation movement. In the summer of 1974 a PLO embassy was opened in Moscow.
During this time Yasser Arafat had addressed the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and soon the PLO was granted observer status at the UN in 1974. In 1975, the Soviet Union sponsored and voted in support of the UN General Assembly Resolution 3379
UN General Assembly Resolution 3379
-The Israeli response:In his address to the United Nations General Assembly the same day, 10. November 1975, Israeli Ambassador Chaim Herzog stated: In his response he also said that the resolution was:...
which equated Zionism with racism (the resolution, however, was later revoked with Resolution 4686
UN General Assembly Resolution 4686
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 46/86 passed on December 16, 1991, revoked Resolution 3379 with a vote of 111 to 25, with 13 abstentions....
in 1991, which the Soviet Union voted for and proposed as well). After the Camp David Accords in September 1978, the Soviet President, Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in...
, declared that “there is only one road” to a real settlement, “the road of full liberation of all Arab lands occupied by Israel in 1967, of full and unambiguous respect for the lawful rights of the Arab people of Palestine, including the right to create their own independent state.” At the end of Arafat's visit to Moscow, 29 October to 1 November 1978, the Soviet authorities finally recognized the PLO as the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.” Nevertheless the Soviet Union urged the PLO and Yasser Arafat to accept the provisions of resolution 242 and recognize Israel and start Peace talks.
In March 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
assumed power and he started his programs of Glasnost
Glasnost
Glasnost was the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of the 1980s...
and Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
which resulted in many changes. The Soviet Union began to reduce support for Third World and other leftist guerrilla movements and urged them to embrace reconciliation. The Soviet Government tried unsuccessfully to encourage Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
and the PLO to recognize Israel before the Palestinian Declaration of Independence
Palestinian Declaration of Independence
The Palestinian Declaration of Independence is a statement written by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish and proclaimed by Yasser Arafat on 15 November 1988. It had previously been adopted by the Palestinian National Council, the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization , by a vote...
on November 15, 1988 in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. But despite Soviet condemnations of it along with the U.S., the Soviet Union became one of the first countries to recognize
International recognition of the State of Palestine
The State of Palestine was proclaimed on 15 November 1988 in Algiers at an extraordinary session in exile of the Palestine National Council. Legal justification for this act was based on United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 of 29 November 1947, which provided for the termination and...
the new State of Palestine
State of Palestine
Palestine , officially declared as the State of Palestine , is a state that was proclaimed in exile in Algiers on 15 November 1988, when the Palestine Liberation Organization's National Council adopted the unilateral Palestinian Declaration of Independence...
on November 18, 1988 and officially established full diplomatic relations with it by the end of 1989. But by the early 1990s as the Soviet Union started to dissolve, it began to increase its relations with Israel. Also many elements of the PLO along with Arafat had supported Iraq in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and as a result they soon gradually lost support of the Soviet Government.
The Soviet Union itself was disbanded after the August Coup in 1991. As a result the Palestinian Liberation Organization lost one of its main sponsors. Also some members of the PLO and Yasser Arafat were very sympathetic to the coup plotters and this had greatly angered Gorbachev and the Soviet leaders. This caused the Soviet government to give up support for the PLO. As a result the PLO began peace talks with Israel in 1991. These things coupled with the growing Islamist trend in Palestinian society and militancy weakened the pro-Russian Palestinian militant groups most of whom took on a Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist line.
Current relations
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the newly created Russian Federation continued the policy of supporting the Palestinan cause albeit in a somewhat limited fashion. Under Presidents Boris YeltsinBoris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
, Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
and Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
, Russia has been balanced and moderate in its dealings with both Israel and the Palestinians and it favors peace between both sides. Russia supported the Middle East Peace Process and the Oslo agreements in 1993. Yasser Arafat had been a frequent visitor to Moscow during the 1990s until 2001. In fact, Russia was one of the countries that voted in 1998 to give Palestine more rights at the UN despite the opposition by both Israel and the United States. Arafat's successor Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
has even stronger connections to Russia. In fact Abbas had earned his degree at the Patrice Lumumba University
Peoples' Friendship University of Russia
The Peoples' Friendship University of Russia is an educational and research institution located in the South of Moscow and is ranked by the Ministry of Education of Russia as the country's third-best university after Moscow State University and Saint Petersburg State University...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
where he had earned his Candidate of Sciences degree (the Soviet equivalent of a PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
). Abbas has visited Russia on several occasions and has met with Russian leaders.
In March 2006, the Russia-Hamas talks began, when Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Foreign Minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
Sergei Lavrov met with Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
leader Khaled Meshaal to discuss the future of the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The peace process in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has taken shape over the years, despite the ongoing violence in the Middle East and an "all or nothing" attitude about a lasting peace, "which prevailed for most of the twentieth century"...
after Hamas became the majority party of the Palestinian National Authority
Palestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
Legislative Council, having won a majority of seats in the Palestinian elections
Palestinian legislative election, 2006
On January 25, 2006, elections were held for the Palestinian Legislative Council , the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority . Notwithstanding the 2005 municipal elections and the January 9, 2005 presidential election, this was the first election to the PLC since 1996; subsequent...
. On February 10, 2006 Russian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
, according to Kommersant
Kommersant
Kommersant is a commerce-oriented newspaper published in Russia. , the circulation was 131,000.- History :The newspaper was initially published in 1909, and it was closed down following the Bolshevik seizure of power and the introduction of censorship in 1917.In 1989, with the onset of press...
journalist Andrey Kolesnikov and a Spanish parliament member, said that he does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization. During the talks in March 2006, Lavrov called on Hamas to comply with the earlier commitments signed by the PLO, and he reiterated those requirements but Hamas
refused. On March 7, 2006 Russia expressed hope that Hamas would consider supporting the Road map for peace
Road map for peace
The roadmap for peace or "road map" for peace is a plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict proposed by a "quartet" of international entities: the United States, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations. The principles of the plan, originally drafted by U.S. Foreign Service...
and the peace plan proposed by Saudi Arabia
Arab Peace Initiative
The Beirut Summit was a meeting of the Arab League in Beirut, Lebanon in March 2002 to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The meeting became especially noteworthy for the adoption, by the Arab states attending, of a proposal offering a comprehensive peace between the Arab countries and...
, but it did not materialize. Israeli spokesman stated: "They (Hamas) did not accept any of those principles ... therefore I don't know where they (Russia) draw their optimism from Hamas changing its ways." The invitation and the talks have caused controversy wherein Russia's intentions in changing its views towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
were questioned by commentators in the United States especially among the neoconservatives. Russia was harshly critical of the 2008-2009 Israel-Gaza Conflict and condemned Israeli actions.". Russia also sent 60 tons of tent, medicines, and food. Also President Medvedev ordered extra humanitarian aid to be sent to the Palestinians. Russia still continues to support the creation of a Palestinian State and for a lasting peace in the Middle East.
Recently after a meeting between the Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov and the Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki
Riyad al-Maliki
Riyad Al-Maliki is former Minister of Information, Government Spokesperson, and Foreign Affairs Minister of the Palestinian National Authority in its 12th Government, and resumed office as Foreign Affairs Minister in the current 13th Government....
on December 9, 2009, both Russia and Palestine have said that their relations are close and friendly and that Russia will continue to assist Palestine in all fields. On January 26, 2010, Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
to discuss the situation in the Middle East. He said that while some progress has been made on peace, it is still not solved yet. President Medvedev said that he hopes to use Russia's influence to solve the Middle East conflict. He also mentioned the long-standing, friendly and deep-rooted ties between both Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. On March 19, 2010 the Middle East Quartet which was composed of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
called for a resumption of peace talks between both Israel and the Palestinians. The Quartet also called for Israel to freeze settlement construction and resume peace talks with the Palestinians. After the Gaza flotilla raid
Gaza flotilla raid
The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six ships of the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea...
on May 31, 2010, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
called for a thorough investigation of the incident and said that, in any case, the deaths of people are irreversible. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
condemned the assault and expressed concern that it was conducted in international waters. On June 8, Putin condemned the acts and said it has to be investigated specially, especially since it was on international waters. The Foreign Ministries of Russia and the EU adopted a joint statement concerning the flotilla attack, which correlates with the UN Security Council activity in the situation. Also Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
's Foreign Ministry expressed "condemnation and profound concern" over the incident and called for a full investigation. It also called the "use of arms against civilians and the detention of the vessels on the high seas without any legal grounds constitute a gross violation of generally accepted international legal norms." The head of the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n State Duma
State Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
Foreign Affairs Committee, Konstantin Kosachev, called for an "urgent meeting" of the Middle East Quartet to discuss the incident. On April 28, 2011 after the rival Palestinian factions Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
and Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
signed a deal to form a national unity government ahead of the national elections, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexei Sazonov said that Russia was pleased with the fact that the Palestinians were able to reach an accord and that Russia hoped that with the implementation of the accord there will be hope for peace in the Middle East. He also said that Russia always supports the national aspirations of the Palestinian people.
On November 27, 2011, Russian President Medvedev sent Palestinian President an official letter of support for Palestinian statehood.