Russia's message to Israel

By Ariel Natan Pasko
web posted September 13, 2004

"The Russians are coming...The Russians are coming..." Well,
that could have been the headlines in Israeli newspapers until a
few days ago, before Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
came to Israel. Now, after meeting with Israeli officials, the
headlines could be, "Russian FM: Chechen Muslim terror evil,
but justifies support for PLO Terror State and help for Iranian
Nukes."

The day before the Russian Foreign Minister came to Israel,
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon phoned Russian President Vladimir
Putin, to express his shock at the seizure of the Russian school in
Beslan. Sharon told Putin that, "We must concentrate political
and intelligence efforts so as to destroy terror." The two agreed
that cooperation in the security, intelligence, and humanitarian
fields would continue. Putin in return, expressed his condolences
for the recent bus bombings in Be'er Sheva, and said that the
Russians value Israel's resolve in preventing terror attacks.

"Israel, which has suffered from terrorism for decades, stands
beside the Russian people," Sharon said at the beginning of the
weekly cabinet meeting. "The terrorist activities in Russia against
innocent civilians prove anew that terror has no borders and a
single goal: to destroy and sow ruin," Sharon continued, "Terror
has no justification, and its time for the free, decent, humanistic
world to unite and fight this terrible plague, which has no borders
or fences."

An Israeli official close to Sharon said that Russia and Israel
were natural allies in the battle against terror. Russia now has
greater cause to listen to what Israel has to say, "They
understand now that what they have is not a local terror problem
but part of the global Islamic terror threat," the official said. "The
Russians may listen to our suggestions this time. Russians now
understand that there can be no distinction drawn between a
good and a bad terrorist," he added. "One cannot on the one
hand refuse to condemn the so-called liberation movements
which have recourse to terrorism and only denounce the radical
Islamic movements."  Israeli officials quickly drew parallels
between Moscow's conflict with Chechen rebels and their own
battle against the Palestinians.

But when the Russian Foreign Minister later spoke in Israel
about global terror, he differentiated between Palestinian terror
against Israel, and Chechen terror against Russia.

That's right, while the Russian Foreign Minister spoke of the
need for a global counter-terror alliance, he warned against
seeing a similarity between the fight against international terror;
drawing a line, saying, there is a clear difference between the
Chechen conflict and what is between Israel and the Palestinians.
Lavrov said the international community considers the West
Bank and Gaza as occupied territory, but concerning Chechnya,
the Russian Foreign Minister wondered aloud, "How can one be
an occupier in his own country? Chechnya is part of Russia."

One could say the same for Israel vis-a-vis Judea, Samaria (the
West Bank) and Gaza. Czarist Russia conquered and occupied
Chechnya in the 19th century, the Jewish people's homeland
included Judea, Samaria, and Gaza for about 29 centuries
longer.

Some statements Lavrov has made since taking office in March
include criticizing Israel for its "tough moves taken by Israel in the
Palestinian territories." He's stated that, "the occupation of
Palestinian lands is damaging for Israel and does not build up its
security." Yet, he claims that, "Russia's policy is neither pro-Arab
nor pro-Israeli. It is directed at securing Russian national
interests, which includes maintaining close and friendly ties both
with the Arab countries and with Israel."

During a day of meetings, the Russian Foreign Minister heard
Israel offer Russia a wide range of assistance, from medical aid
for children suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, to sending
medical teams to the area, to dispatching counter-terror advisers
and upgrading intelligence cooperation. And while Israeli society
was sympathizing with the Russian tragedy - for example during
Lavrov's visit - the Knesset stood for a moment of silence in
memory of those people murdered by Muslim terrorists in Russia
and the recent bus bombing in Be'er Sheva, the Russian Foreign
Minister was denying the connection. Gideon Sa'ar (chairman of
the Likud Knesset faction) in requesting the commemoration
said, "Our hearts go out to the Russian people, who are
mourning children murdered in inhumane brutality. The mourning
of the parents and families from Be'er Sheva is the same as the
mourning of the parents and families from Beslan; and the
struggle against international terrorism in all its
 forms is also common to both peoples." It doesn't seem that
 Russia agrees.

Israel has several points of contention with Russia's foreign
policy. The biggest, is Russia's sympathy for the Palestinians, it's
downplaying of terror against Israel, and its support for a
Palestinian State. Next is Russia's support for the Iranian nuclear
program. Finally, there's Russia's relationship with Syria and its
"blind-eye" policy toward Syria's vicious occupation of Lebanon.

In his whirlwind one-day visit to Israel, Lavrov met with Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, President
Moshe Katzav, and the opposition leader, MK Shimon Peres
(Labor). This followed Lavrov's visits to Egypt and Lebanon.

Prime Minister Sharon, meeting with Lavrov, reiterated Israel's
deep empathy with Russia's plight. "We share the disaster that hit
Russia, which fell victim to a horrible act of terror," he said. "We
ourselves are victims of Arab Palestinian terror for over 100
years. We are familiar with the cruelty of Palestinian terror."
Sharon continued, "The terror that hit Russia is the same that is
hitting us here in Israel. We know that there can be no
compromise with terror. We have to fight, overpower, and
defeat terror."

Focusing on the international condemnation of Israel's security
fence in his discussions with the Russian Foreign Minister, Israeli
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told reporters that he told
Lavrov, Israel now expects Russia not to support the
Palestinian's upcoming resolution at the United Nations against
the security fence, which calls for sanctions against Israel. Russia
voted against Israel on this issue when it was brought to the
General Assembly in July. Shalom reminded the Russian Foreign
Minister, that in the last 21 UN votes relating to Israel, Russia
voted against Israel 17 times and abstained on four occasions,
and that hasn't gone unnoticed in Israel. Shalom, at a joint press
conference with Lavrov after their meeting, said that Israel is
looking toward the Russian UN delegation "to oppose the
ongoing Palestinian campaign against Israel and to reject their
anti-Israeli initiatives, designed to hurt Israel and divert attention
from their own obligations. It is clea
 r that the solutions to the Palestinian issue lie in Ramallah and
 Gaza, not in New York or The Hague."

Speaking to opposition leader Shimon Peres, Lavrov said, "We
appreciate the very strong readiness of the Israeli people to help
Russia at this hour and this will certainly strengthen the counter-
terrorist coalition these days." But he pointed out that any
counter-terror alliance would have to include Arab countries,
Russia's traditional allies in the region. When asked whether
Russia planned to change its foreign policies regarding Syria, Iran
and Saudi Arabia in view of seeming Arab participation in the
recent terrorist attack and in an earlier siege of a Moscow
theater in 2002, Lavrov equivocated, "terrorists have neither
borders nor nationalities."

About Iran

Israeli Foreign Minister Shalom told reporters he spoke with
Lavrov about, "The urgent need to address the danger to the
entire international community posed by Iran's nuclear program.
The international pressure on Iran must be intensified
dramatically if we are to prevent Iran's nuclear ambitions, and
Russia, once again, has a key role to play in this effort." During
their meeting, according to Israeli officials, Lavrov told Shalom
that if Israel has specific information about Iran, they should bring
it to Moscow's attention. Saying that Russia is "the last country
interested in an Iran armed with nuclear weapons," Lavrov said,
he feels that often Iran is "used as a slogan." "If you have leads,"
he said, "bring them to us." Lavrov said that Iran feels it needs
nuclear weapons to defend itself against the type of campaign the
US waged against Iraq. "The next time anyone wants to attack
one of the countries in the axis of evil," he said, in a poke at the
US, "they should first
  come with proof [of weapons of mass destruction]." 

But the Russian Foreign Minister's response to the Iran issue was
predictable. While the EU has expressed increased concern over
Tehran's intent to resume uranium enrichment processes, Lavrov
has preferred to rely on plausible denial. "The prospects and
scale of our partnership with Iran are defined with regard to
Tehran's fulfillment of its obligations to the International Atomic
Energy Agency," Lavrov asserted. The Russian Foreign Minister
claims that to ensure that Iran's nuclear program is limited to
peaceful purposes, "we encourage Iran to resume a freeze on all
activities connected with the enrichment of uranium." But, then he
adds, "At the same time, Iran is our neighbor and traditional
partner, with whom we maintain mutually beneficial ties." Many
analysts argue that the nuclear-security cooperation with Iran
signals Russia's attempt at an independent foreign policy from the
US and the West, just as France's opposition to the war in Iraq
did.

So while Muslim fanatics kill Russian schoolchildren, and
regularly do suicidal genocide bombings against Israelis, the
Russian Foreign Minister has drawn a distinction, and while Iran
pursues advanced missile and nuclear technology, Russian
companies continue to help them out, while denying that Iran is a
serious threat.

Russia might not be concerned that Iranian missiles might be able
to one day soon "fry" Russian cities, but Israel should take the
recent threats very seriously. In the last few months, several top
Iranian officials have warned that Iran would "wipe Israel off the
map" if Israel attacks its nuclear facilities.

"Their threats to attack Iran's nuclear facilities cannot be realized.
They are aware Tehran's reaction will be so harsh that Israel will
be wiped off the face of the earth and US interests will be easily
damaged," said Sayyid Mas'ud Jazairi, head of the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard, in a statement to the Iranian News
Agency. The Revolutionary Guard is a military organization that
operates in parallel to the Iranian army. "If Israel fires a missile
into the Bushehr nuclear power plant, it has to say goodbye
forever to its Dimona nuclear facility, where it produces and
stockpiles nuclear weapons," deputy chief of the Revolutionary
Guards, Brig.-Gen. Muhammed Baqer Zolqadr said recently. In
a separate statement, Yadollah Javani, head of the Revolutionary
Guards' political bureau, threatened that Iran would use its
Shahab-3 missile, which he said could reach "all the territory
under the control of the Zionist regime, including its nuclear
facilities."

Then there's the Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani, who
said in an interview with the pan-Arab al-Jazeera television
network recently, that Iran would "not sit with our arms folded to
wait for what others will do to us." Some Iranian military
commanders, Shamkhani said, believe that "preventive
operations" are not the monopoly of Americans. Shamkhani, also
warned that should Israel attack Iran's nuclear facilities, his
country would "wipe out" Israel. Imagine, the Iranian Defense
Minister has suggested a "first strike" on Israel might be carried
out.

In response, Israeli Chief of Staff, General Moshe Ya'alon, said
Iran's nuclear development had to be halted before it went much
further. He said, "Iran is striving for nuclear capability and I
suggest that in this matter [Israel should] not rely on others."

Currently, Iran's Shahab-3 missile has a range of about 800
miles (about 1,300 kilometers) and can reach as far as Turkey,
Israel, the Gulf oil states, and most Saudi Arabian cities. But the
Iranians are also believed to be working on longer-range
Shahab-4 and Shahab-5 missiles. Those missiles are said to have
a range of 2,400 to 3,000 kilometers and 5,500 to 6,000
kilometers, respectively, and could threaten every European
capital, Russia, and even India.

In contrast to General Ya'alon, Guy Bechor, Middle East Affairs
analyst from the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel, said
he believes that Israel should "keep a low profile against
escalation" because despite Iranian rhetoric, Israel is not the only
country being threatened. The Shahab-3 missiles threaten not
only Israel but also the surrounding Gulf States, which are oil-
producing nations, said Bechor. Iran is also developing the
Shahab-4 with a range that could strike Western Europe (Some
analysts say it could even reach the eastern seaboard of the US),
why would Iran have to develop this longer-range missile if it
only intended to attack Israel, he asked. "Iran is building itself as
a superpower, not against Israel but against the Western [world],
" Bechor answered.

So, why is Russia still helping Iran exactly? And why is Israel
helping Russia?

Syria and its occupation of Lebanon

While nine countries recently supported UN Security Council
Resolution 1559, sponsored by the United States and France,
Russia, along with five other countries abstained. The resolution's
purpose was to pressure Lebanon to reject a proposed change
to its constitution, allowing a second term for its pro-Syrian
puppet president and called for an immediate withdrawal of all
foreign forces - a veiled reference to Syrian occupation troops -
from Lebanon. Lavrov explained after the vote, "Russia's
position stems from its respect for the sovereignty of all the
countries of the region and for each one of these countries to live
in peace and security with its neighbors."

After meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister, Israeli President
Moshe Katzav noted that Lavrov was leaving that evening for
Damascus. He reminded Lavrov of Syria's support for Hezbollah
and called attention to the need to honor the UN resolutions that
call on the Lebanese government to assert its sovereignty, but the
Russian Foreign Minister was non-committal.

It seems that the Russians aren't troubled by the Syrian
occupation of Lebanon, though they are, by Israel's so-called
"occupation" of parts of its historic homeland. Nor, do the
Russians seem to include Hezbollah's activities, within their
definition of global terror activities, although there is conclusive
evidence for Hezbollah's involvement in terror against Israel,
originating from Gaza. What about Hezbollah's involvement in
the 1994 terror attack in Argentina, against a Jewish target, that
killed 85 people and injured over 300? And then there are even
claims that Hezbollah has operated in Iraq, against American
troops.

Israel shouldn't let the Russians off the hook on this one either

The day after Lavrov visited Israel, a huge rally of about 130,
000 people in Moscow, protested the Beslan murders.
Demonstrators held signs saying, "We won't give Russia to
terrorists" and "The enemy will be crushed; victory will be ours"
and then observed a moment of silence. Russian President
Vladimir Putin rejected any dialogue with the Chechen
separatists. Putin denied that his government would overhaul its
policy on Chechnya because of the recent wave of attacks. The
world should have "no more questions about our policy in
Chechnya" after the attackers shot children in the back, he said.
Chechen terror was aimed at fomenting conflict in the volatile
south Russian region and breaking up the country, he claimed,
"This is all about Russia's territorial integrity."

It seems the Russians understand how to protect their own
"homeland" and tie it into the global war on terror, pity that they
don't give Israel the same slack vis-a-vis the so-called
Palestinians.
 
But worse, is the way Israeli leaders grovel to people, the likes
of Lavrov. Israeli leaders have to be honest about seeing the
two-faced self-interest of the Russians, for what it is...self-
interest. Sharon and company might just learn a valuable lesson
from this episode, about "territorial integrity" and resisting those
who would "break up the country".

The Jews of Israel await leadership that expresses it's own
national self-interest...thank you Russia for the lesson.

Ariel Natan Pasko is an independent analyst & consultant. He
has a Master's Degree in International Relations & Policy
Analysis. His articles appear regularly on numerous news/views
and think-tank websites, in newspapers, and can be read at:
www.geocities.com/ariel_natan_pasko (c) 2004/5764 Pasko

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