Putin eyes peacemaking role in Israel-Iran war
The Russian president has pitched himself as a possible mediator -- though Moscow's closeness to Iran and Russia's invasion of Ukraine raise doubts about what kind of role he can play, experts say.
The assault on Ukraine and the war in Gaza have strained Moscow's traditionally good relations with Israel, home to a large Russian-born community.
At the same time, Russia has deepened military ties with Iran.
But while Moscow was quick to condemn Israel's strikes on Iran last Friday, Putin also wasted little time phoning both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to offer his role as a peacemaker.
'By positioning itself as an indispensable intermediary, Moscow aims to reassert diplomatic relevance despite its pariah status in Europe,' said Nicole Grajewski, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
It also wants to protect its ally Tehran, facing a potentially existential military clash.
'Russia does not want to see regime change in Iran, especially if it results in a pro-Western government,' she added.
Moscow and Tehran in January inked a far-ranging strategic partnership agreement to broaden military ties, and Kyiv and its allies have long accused Iran of supplying Russia with drones and short-range missiles.
'Not objective'
Russia is also seeking to regain influence in the Middle East following the fall of ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
'The regime change in Syria caused it to lose ground,' said Tatiana Kastoueva-Jean of the French Institute of International Relations.
Russia has previously used the region to boost its international standing.
After being hit with sanctions for the annexation of Crimea, Russia 'emerged from international isolation' by 'becoming indispensable in the region,' Kastoueva-Jean said.
Specifically, by backing Assad in the Syrian civil war and supporting the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal.
However, Moscow's much closer alliance with Tehran this time around could disqualify it from playing the role of trusted mediator.
'Since Russia is seen as Iran's ally, and they have a strategic partnership agreement, such mediation would not inspire confidence in Europe. Nor in Israel,' Russian political analyst Konstantin Kalachev told AFP.
'A mediator should not sympathize with one side,' he added.
French President Emmanuel Macron is among those to have pushed back at the idea of Putin as a moderator.
'I do not believe that Russia, which is now engaged in a high-intensity conflict and has decided not to respect the UN Charter for several years now, can be a mediator,' he said over the weekend.
And asked if it had received a response to its overtures, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Moscow saw 'a reluctance, on the part of Israel, to resort to any mediation services or to embark on a peaceful path towards a settlement.'
'Woo Trump'
One person who does not seem concerned at a possible role for Russia is Donald Trump, who said he was 'open' to Putin playing middleman.
The US President is pushing his own rapprochement with Putin in a complete overhaul of the West's attempts to isolate and punish him for the Ukraine offensive.
Putin may welcome the opportunity to shift the conversation with the White House just as Trump grows increasingly frustrated over Russia's ongoing attacks on Ukraine and failure to strike a peace deal.
'Russia is trying to woo Trump on issues that go beyond Ukraine,' said Kastoueva-Jean.
Even before Israel launched its wave of strikes on Iran last Friday, Putin was offering to help secure a deal between Iran and the United States over Tehran's nuclear programme.
But for many the idea of Putin playing peacemaker, more than three years into his invasion of Ukraine is a worrying prospect.
'It would legitimize Russia as an indispensable great power at a time when it is waging the biggest war of aggression on European soil since World War II,' said Anna Borshchevskaya, an analyst at The Washington Institute.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asharq Al-Awsat
36 minutes ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iran and Belarus Agree to Boost Bilateral Defense Ties
The leaders of Belarus and Iran signed new agreements on Wednesday to boost bilateral ties in key areas including defense, the two governments said. Presidents Alexander Lukashenko and Masoud Pezeshkian signed a package of 13 documents in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. Both governments have been placed under heavy sanctions, limiting potential trading partners. Pezeshkian said Iran would help Belarus to 'neutralize' such measures, citing Tehran's decades of experience circumventing Western economic restrictions. Lukashenko told Pezeshkian that Belarus was 'ready to cooperate with you on all issues — from providing your country with food to military-technical cooperation,' calling the Iranian president a 'friend.' The two parties did not disclose any further details on how the countries intend to cooperate in the defense sector. Other areas covered by the agreement include industry and tourism, as well as joint initiatives in science, technology and education. Access to Belarus' wood processing and chemical industry, as well as potash fertilizers, can all bring potential benefits to Iran. The two presidents also said their countries would start work toward a strategic partnership treaty. Lukashenko, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory as a staging ground for Moscow' full-scale invasion of Ukraine and later allowed the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear missiles. Iran has supplied Russia with drones for use in the war, and Pezeshkian signed a strategic cooperation treaty with Putin in January, although it did not include a mutual defense clause. The Iranian president's visit to Minsk has been postponed several times due to US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. Lukashenko called the strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure 'a serious threat to regional and international stability and security.' 'We support Iran's legitimate right to develop peaceful nuclear energy,' Lukashenko said.
Al Arabiya
36 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
Iran says Europe has no right to extend deadline for snapback sanctions
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday said European powers had no right to trigger snapback sanctions under a moribund 2015 nuclear deal or extend the October deadline to trigger them. 'When we believe that they do not have the right to implement snapback, it is natural that they do not have the right to extend its deadline either,' Araghchi told state news agency IRNA.
Asharq Al-Awsat
an hour ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Russian Drone Fell in Eastern Poland, Warsaw Says
A Russian drone crashed in a field in eastern Poland, according to early findings, Polish officials said on Wednesday, in an incident the nation's defense minister described as a provocation. The drone hit and scorched a cornfield in the village of Osiny in the eastern Lublin province overnight, just over 100 km (62 miles) from the Ukrainian border and around 90 km from Belarus. Poland has been on high alert for objects entering its airspace since a stray Ukrainian missile struck a southern Polish village in 2022, killing two people. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Pawel Wronski told Reuters that the findings so far and some experts have suggested a Russian version of the Shahed drone developed by Iran was involved in the latest incident. General Dariusz Malinowski said the drone appeared to be a decoy which was designed to self-destruct. He said it had a Chinese engine. Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, who also serves as defense minister, said the incident bore similarities to cases in which Russian drones flew into Lithuania and Romania, and could be linked to efforts to end the war in Ukraine. "Once again, we are dealing with a provocation by the Russian Federation, with a Russian drone. We are dealing with it in a crucial moment, when discussions about peace (in Ukraine) are underway," he told journalists. Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on X his ministry would issue a protest against the airspace violation but did not name the perpetrator. "Another violation of our airspace from the East confirms that Poland's most important mission towards NATO is the defense of our own territory." The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. US President Donald Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and a group of European allies in the White House on Monday, following his meeting on Friday in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The blast shattered windows in several homes, but nobody was injured, national news agency PAP reported. Police said they found burnt metal and plastic debris at the site and that corn had been burnt in an area of 8-10 m (26-33 ft) diameter around the spot where the object fell. "I was sitting in my room at night, around midnight, maybe, and I heard something just bang," local resident Pawel Sudowski told local news website "It exploded so loudly that the whole house simply shook." Air raid sirens rang out for about an hour over the border in Ukraine's Volyn and Lviv regions from around midnight local time (2100 GMT), according to messages from its military posted on Telegram. There were no reports of air attacks in those regions, their governors said.
