Representatives of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah and another dozen Palestinian factions will gather in Moscow from tomorrow to March 2 for a meeting under Russian auspices, according to Mikhail Bogdanov, Vladimir Putin's deputy foreign minister and presidential envoy for the Middle East and Africa, will take place – has “the aim of helping the various Palestinian forces to unite politically”. As the Arab News portal points out, by hosting these factions – some of which are viewed by the West as terrorist groups – Russia is promoting the narrative that it is the true protector of the Palestinian cause. Furthermore, Moscow is sending a strong message to the Arab-Islamic world and the Global South in general. And this comes at a time when Washington's ironclad support for Israel has further eroded US soft power outside the West.
Russia has always had close relations with Hamas. Over the years, representatives of the Palestinian group have visited Moscow several times. This fact has led to tensions in Russia's relations with Israel, although there has never been a break between the two countries. From the Kremlin's perspective, Hamas is an actor that Russia must contend with, even more so if its goal is to gain greater influence in the Middle East and particularly in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The last public visit by Hamas representatives to Moscow took place at the end of October last year. At this point, the Kremlin was focused on releasing Israeli-Russian dual citizens held hostage in Gaza. These efforts produced positive results, as in early November Hamas kept its word and released three Israeli-Russian hostages.
Russia's ability to exploit its ties with Hamas could also serve Moscow's interests elsewhere. In fact, by playing this card, Putin could dissuade Israel from the temptation to join the West in imposing sanctions on Russia or arming Ukraine two years after the invasion. But tomorrow's meeting also represents an opportunity for Russia because it serves to counter Western efforts to portray Moscow as isolated internationally. Ultimately, Moscow wants to show the rest of the world that it can conduct an intra-Palestinian dialogue without necessarily siding with one faction. This is important for Moscow's position in the Arab world, where different states have different views on Hamas. For example, when Qatar accepts the reality of Hamas as an actor in the Palestinian political space, while the United Arab Emirates firmly rejects the group primarily due to its proximity to the Muslim Brotherhood. So for ideological reasons.
