Troublemaking Soviets...never change.
Bruce
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/02/13/003.html
Monday, February 13, 2006. Page 1.
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Putin's Gamble With Hamas
By Oksana Yablokova <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Staff Writer
By inviting Hamas leaders for talks, President Vladimir Putin is taking a
risky diplomatic gamble that could significantly boost Russia's global
influence but has already opened the door to accusations of double standards
on terrorism -- accusations that the Kremlin itself has repeatedly directed
at Western countries.
Hamas leaders confirmed this weekend that they would travel to Moscow in the
second half of February and said that they did not expect conditions for the
talks, despite U.S. pressure for Russia to urge Hamas to renounce violence
and recognize Israeli statehood.
Putin announced the invitation to Hamas -- which has carried out nearly 60
suicide bombings in Israel since 2000 -- during a visit to Spain on
Thursday. The invitation, which follows Hamas' victory in Palestinian
elections on Jan. 25, won support from France on Friday but has enraged
Israel, which fears Russia is lending legitimacy to a group that the United
States and Europe consider a terrorist organization.
"[Putin], I believe, would feel very bad if Israel were to invite the
Chechen terror organizations into Israel and give them legitimacy," Israeli
Education Minister Meir Sheetrit said Friday on Israel Radio.
Israeli television broadcast images Friday night of Hamas posters praising
Chechen rebels, The Associated Press reported. The posters showed images of
Hamas leaders and Chechen rebel warlord Shamil Basayev, who has claimed
responsibility for Russia's most horrific terrorist attacks, including
numerous suicide bombings and the 2004 Beslan school hostage-taking that
left 331 people dead, most of them children. It was unclear when the
televised pictures had been taken.
Putin has refused to negotiate with Chechen rebels, whom he has branded
terrorists. He and other senior Russian officials have criticized the United
States and European countries for refusing to extradite rebels, accusing
them of applying double standards in the global struggle against terrorism.
The Russian Foreign Ministry defended Putin's initiative, saying a dialogue
with Hamas must be started right away to get the peace process back on track
in the Middle East. It said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had discussed the
issue with Russia's partners in the so-called Quartet of Middle East peace
negotiators -- the United States, the European Union and the United Nations.
Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov also defended the
plan, saying the West would eventually have to accept the necessity of
talks. "Hamas is in power, this is a fact, and secondly, it came to power as
a result of free democratic elections," Ivanov told reporters at a
NATO-Russia meeting in Italy on Friday.
Moscow has not recognized Hamas as a terrorist organization -- a fact that
Putin stressed during his recent annual news conference in the Kremlin.
Israeli interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert took a softer line than many of
his colleagues Sunday. "I think the Russian position is mistaken, as I have
stated. But from what they said to us during the weekend, they will demand
Hamas recognize Israel and give up terror," he told a weekly Cabinet
meeting, Reuters reported.
If Russia can find some way out of the international impasse over a Hamas
government, its role as an international player promises to be greatly
enhanced. Putin has been seeking to boost Russia's profile while it holds
the presidency of the Group of Eight leading industrial nations this year.
Putin raised the Hamas talks during a meeting of G8 finance ministers in
Moscow over the weekend.
Putin did the right thing by extending the invitation to Hamas, but he has
taken a serious risk, said Alexei Malashenko, a political analyst with the
Carnegie Moscow Center. "Everything depends on Hamas now," Malashenko said.
"While their leaders are negotiating in Moscow, some of their militants
might be preparing and carrying out a terrorist attack against Israel, and
Putin would have to face the tough question from the West and Israel of who
are you receiving and negotiating with in the Kremlin?"
Russia's envoy to the Middle East, Alexander Kalugin, said Sunday that
Moscow would try to persuade Hamas leaders to abandon their hard-line stance
and embrace peace efforts. He met on Sunday with Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
Should Russia's diplomatic efforts fail, its prestige will suffer a stinging
blow, Malashenko said. He added that Russia should have consulted with
Israel and the other members of the Quartet before announcing the Hamas
talks.
Putin appears to be counting on Hamas to adopt a more moderate stance after
its election win, said Mikhail Roshchin, chief researcher of Islamic studies
at the Institute of Oriental Studies. "Hamas understands that it has to
somehow justify the confidence of voters having won the elections once.
Otherwise, it authority won't last long," he said.
The Soviet Union was for years a main sponsor of Yasser Arafat's Fatah
movement in its fight with Israel. Hamas beat Fatah in the elections.
Roshchin said Putin seemed to be following the Soviet-era policy of
supporting marginal movements in the Middle East, where Moscow has long
engaged in political games.
Explaining his invitation in Spain, Putin said that Hamas had come to power
in democratic, legitimate elections and that the choice of the Palestinian
people must be respected.
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