RUSSIA STEPS UP MIDDLE EAST ENGAGEMENT WITH ABBAS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MOSCOW 000270

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/05/2020
TAGS: PGOV PREL RS IS
SUBJECT: RUSSIA STEPS UP MIDDLE EAST ENGAGEMENT WITH ABBAS
VISIT AND MASHAAL AND NETANYAHU TO FOLLOW

REF: 09 MOSCOW 980

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Susan Elliott for reasons 1
.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: As Moscow seeks to reassert itself in the
Middle East Peace Process, the first of three regional
leaders, Mahmoud Abbas, visited Russia. (Khaled Mashaal and
PM Netanyahu will visit in the coming weeks.) Meeting with
President Medvedev and FM Lavrov, Abbas urged Russia to
pressure Israel to freeze all settlement activity. Abbas
also strategized with Russian leaders about how to convince
Hamas to sign the Palestinian reconciliation agreement. With
these visitors, the GOR is relaying helpful messages to all
parties and setting the stage for a Moscow Quartet
Ministerial, possibly in March. End Summary.

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Meetings in Sochi, Moscow and Tatarstan
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2. (C) While in Russia January 26-28, Abbas had meetings
with government officials as well as religious leaders.
Abbas met President Medvedev and FM Lavrov in Sochi. In
Moscow he met with Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov, Yevgeny Primakov and
Sergey Stepashin. Abbas also dined with Arab Ambassadors in
Moscow, and traveled to Kazan to meet with the leadership of
Tatarstan and Chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia,
Ravil Gainutdin.


3. (C) According to Alexander Rudakov of the MFA's Israel
and Palestine Desk, Abbas wanted to visit Russia in December
2009 but his trip was postponed due to scheduling conflicts.
Rudakov said Abbas and Medvedev discussed three primary
topics: Middle East Peace, Inter-Palestinian issues and the
Moscow Conference.

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Palestinians Want More Pressure on Israel
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4. (C) Regarding the prospects for Middle East Peace,
Rudakov said that Abbas and Medvedev discussed the
Palestinians' view that only the U.S. can successfully exert
influence over Israel to stop settlement activity, though
Abbas was pessimistic about Special Envoy Mitchell's
proposals and claimed they would not be enough to restart
negotiations. Abbas said that he needed a complete freeze in
settlement activity, even for a brief window, in order to
return to the table.


5. (C) Counselor Zaul Awad of the Palestinian Embassy in
Moscow provided a similar readout, indicating that Abbas had
complained to the GOR that there was no pressure placed on
Israel to follow the Roadmap. According to Awad, Abbas
conveyed the message that a settlement freeze, even for a
short time such as three or six months, would be enough to
allow the Palestinians to return to negotiations. He urged
Russia to pressure PM Netanyahu to take such action when he
visits Moscow later this month.

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Palestinian Reconciliation
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6. (C) On Palestinian reconciliation, the MFA,s Rudakov
noted that, if Hamas signed the agreement brokered in Cairo,
elections could take place June 28. Abbas remarked that
Hamas judged signing the document could cost them the
elections, even in Gaza. For this reason, it would be
difficult to gain their signature.


7. (C) Awad said that Abbas was frustrated with the
inability of Russian ambassadors in the Middle East to
convince Hamas to sign the reconciliation document. Awad
noted that, because of this failure, the Russians believed it
was necessary for Mashaal to come to Moscow to receive the
same message next week. He remarked that even if Mashaal
favored the agreement, he would need to seek "permission" to
sign from Iran and Syria before doing so.


8. (C) Awad also commented that, although Abbas has said he
will not run in the next elections, most people around him
are confident he will stand once an agreement is reached. He
reinforced statements Abbas made to Medvedev indicating that
Hamas was reluctant to sign the document because it would
lead to a loss in the elections.

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Unity Plus Freeze Equals Moscow Conference

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9. (C) Rudakov claimed that Abbas favored the Moscow
Conference instead of a competing Paris conference. The
Moscow Conference, Abbas claimed, had been agreed to by all
parties, and, Russia, as a Quartet member, was well placed to
host the event. Lavrov reiterated the GOR's commitment to
host the Conference once the Israelis and Palestinians resume
negotiations.

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Luzhkov Pinch-Hitting for Putin?
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10. (C) The meeting with Moscow Mayor Luzhkov was a
substitution, according to Rudakov, because PM Putin was not
available. Rudakov indicated that the meeting lacked
substance although potential projects in agriculture,
irrigation and energy were discussed.


11. (C) Awad described the meeting differently, reporting
that the meeting was very positive and would probably lead to
expanded cooperation between Moscow and the Palestinians.
For example, Awad noted that Russian ambulance maker Zil
would likely donate some vehicles to the Palestinians. He
also claimed there was discussion about potential
desalination work by Russian companies as well as irrigation
projects for agriculture. Awad said a team would likely come
to Moscow soon for follow-up consultations.


12. (C) Most exciting to Awad seemed to be the increasing
sports connections between the two. He reported that soccer
team Dinamo Moscow had recently played a game against the
Palestinian team. Dinamo had also promised to send two
trainers to support the Palestinian players and offered a
one-month team visit to Moscow. He expected that this
cooperation would extend to other Russian clubs in the
future.


13. (C) Vladimir Lebedev, Deputy Head, Department of External
Economic and International Relations in the Moscow city
government said that Abbas had requested the meeting with
Luzhkov, and confirmed Luzhkov was not standing in for Putin.
Lebedev recalled that the Moscow city government's
relationship with the Palestinians dated back at least a
decade, and several Palestinian delegations had visited
Moscow in previous years. Luzhkov and Abbas became
acquainted during Yasser Arafat's visit to Moscow about ten
years ago, when Abbas was a member of the delegation.
Lebedev also reported that the Moscow city government had
been close to an agreement on and even participated in some
tenders to develop both recreational facilities and a medical
facility on the Dead Sea (Ref A). Ultimately, these plans
did not transpire since the Moscow city government could not
afford to make substantial down payments during the economic
crisis.


14. (C) Luzhkov also mentioned general ideas for Russians to
provide assistance to the Palestinians, such as medical,
water treatment and desalination equipment, as well as
financial assistance for their economy. According to
Lebedev, Abbas agreed to think about resources the
Palestinians needed and the two sides planned further
discussions for a later date. Additionally, a Palestinian
delegation, including technical experts and managerial staff,
will return to Moscow at an undetermined date in the future.
Luzhkov and Abbas agreed that after the Palestinians and
Israelis reached a peace agreement, Moscow would renew
discussions regarding development around the Dead Sea.

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Educational and Cultural Ties Increasing
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15. (C) Lamenting that the armored personnel carriers Russia
wanted to donate remained in Jordan, Awad detailed other
bilateral social and cultural projects. Awad said that the
GOR provided 150 scholarships annually for Palestinian
students to study in Russia and would continue to do so.
Currently, there are approximately 3,000 Palestinians
studying at various Russian universities. He noted that
Russia also planned to open a Russian school and cultural
center in Bethlehem as well as a hotel for pilgrims visiting
religious sites owned by the Russian Orthodox Church.


16. (C) With Stepashin, Abbas discussed land owned by the
Russian Orthodox Church in the Palestinian territories.
Abbas ended his trip to Russia by visiting Kazan where he met
with the leadership of Tatarstan as well as Gainutdin.
Rudakov said this stop was part of Abbas's effort to learn

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about various regions of Russia. Abbas has previously
visited Chechnya and Dagestan.

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Comment
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17. (C) As a member of the Quartet, Moscow is attempting to
leverage its long-standing ties to the region by providing
positive messages on Palestinian unity and Israeli
settlements. Whether Moscow-Tehran tensions will embolden
the GOR to be more forceful with Hamas or instead give Moscow
less influence with them is unclear. Russia, however, will
likely be content to be seen as an active member of the
Quartet with these high-profile visits and a ministerial
meeting in the near term. Actual progress on eitherQalestinian reconciliation
or Israeli settlements would be a
bonus for Moscow.
Beyrle