Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug. 28 / Trend , U.Sadigova/
Although Russia could and still can change the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations, she will not due to the deadlock which has arisen in the Middle East peace process, said Yevgeny Satanovsky, President of the Russian Institute for Israel and Middle East Studies.
"Moscow, of course, can somehow act as an intermediary; she has good relations with the Palestinians and their leadership, there is a huge number of mixed Russian-Palestinian families [...], and a medical and engineering elite, trained in Russian universities," Russia's famous Middle East expert, Satanovsky, told Trend over the phone from Moscow. "There are 1 million 300 00 Israeli immigrants from the Soviet Union - all this could be a very good bridge."
However, in the current situation, where the peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians has increasingly negative indicators, and even is at an impasse, no one, even Russia and the United States, can solve it, said Satanovsky.
Israel and the European Union have urged Russia to increase its role in the Middle East peace process, Israeli media reported.
The EU believes that Moscow should be more involved in the negotiations, considering the fact Russia is a member of the Middle East Quartet. "
These statements were made on the backdrop of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to European countries and his talks on the problem of Jewish settlements with U.S. Special Envoy to the region, George Mitchell.
Satanovsky believes that "Russia has an advantage in the Middle East, which Brussels and Washington do not have, primarily due to the large amount of Russian-Israeli and Palestinian families," but "no one can change the situation until speculation on the peace process stops".
"Moreover, if the Palestinians and the Israelis are left in peace, no one needs mediate, then they certainly would find a solution acceptable to all," the Middle East expert said. "That would be a real solution, based on a solid foundation."
In recent months, the U.S. and European Union have urged both Palestinians and Israelis to accelerate the peace process in order to provide a starting point for the coexistence of two states - Israel and a Palestinian - side by side, in peace and security.
Before the UN General Assembly in September, U.S. President Barack Obama intends to announce the U.S.'s new plan in solving the Middle East conflict, said the British newspaper The Guardian. At the General Assembly, a meeting is planned to be held between Netanyahu and Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas - the first after the right wing cabinet's arrival in Israel.
The main obstacle in resuming the peace process was Israel's refusal to fulfill the demands of the international community and the Palestinian authorities to cease constructing Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
At talks on Wednesday with Mitchell, Netanyahu proposed a nine-month suspension on the construction of Jewish settlements in order to free up the peace process with the Palestinians, the Ha'aretz newspaper said on Thursday, citing an unnamed government source.
But despite pressure from the Obama administration and the EU, Israel will not dismantle its settlements, as it did in the Gaza Strip in 2005, said Satanovsky.
"This experience has led to very negative consequences for both Israelis and Palestinians," the Russia analyst said. "So today, after the Al-Aqsa Intifada [Palestinian uprising in 2000] and the relationship between Hamas and Fatah, it is useless to suggest that Israel will yield to Washington's pressure.
After Israeli troops withdrew from Gaza and the dismantling of Jewish settlements, the Palestinian enclave came under the control of the resistance movement Hamas, which rejects a treaty with Israel.
Referring to Washington's role in the peace process, Satanovsky sees them as efforts "aimed not at peace, but at attempts to look like a superpower and a respected negotiator, which is shown on all sides".
The Russian Middle-East expert believes that now there is a struggle in the Obama administration between far-left officials, like Rahm Emmanuel and Dan Akselirot, against the right wing, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
"Washington is now working on this [the fight against the right-wing government], that will unlikely lead to change," believes Satanovsky.
Therefore, according to the expert, Russia could, perhaps, try to mediate in the talks, but it is impossible to do anything in the peace process.
"Of course, the two elderly men, Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] and Shimon Peres [Israel's president], who stand at the centre of the peace process, will continue to talk about peace talks," added Satanovsky. "But the moment those discussions go, we witness it all crash down."
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