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Israel in Favor of Moscow Conference
// But will deprive it of meaning
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni arrived in Moscow yesterday evening. Here they hope to receive approval to hold a conference on a Middle Eastern settlement. Contrary to expectations, Livni will not be able to sign an agreement to eliminate visa requirements for travel between the two countries because Russia did not prepare the necessary documents on time. Complications have also arisen in the transfer to Russia of its historical property in the Holy Land, an issue that had seemed settled already. Kommersant Jerusalem correspondent Grigory Asmolov has the details.
Battle over the Peace Conference
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni came to Russia for one day. The main point on her schedule is a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Seregy Lavrov. On the agenda, there are negotiations are more topics than they have ever had together. Russia most of all is interested in her opinion on a Moscow conference on a settlement in the Middle East.
Israel has reacted coolly to similar ideas. Its attitude swung a little, however, last autumn, on the eve of the Israeli-Palestinian summit in Annapolis. The Israeli media reported then that Jerusalem had not ruled out the possibility of the conference in Moscow. A number of experts say that the change was due to Russian diplomats' success convincing Syria to send a delegation to Annapolis. But soon after the summit, Livni made it clear that she had little desire to see a Moscow conference. Just after that, the newspaper Maariv reported, citing anonymous sources, that Israel opposes the Russian initiative.
There are several factors that explain Israel's shifting position. One of them is a distrust of Russia by the Israeli establishment, and especially the influential defense agencies – because of Russia's construction of an atomic power plant in Iran, its arms deals with shady regimes, its cooperation with Syrian intelligence during the 2006 war in Lebanon (the Israelis believe) and so on. Therefore, Israeli's agreement to a conference in Moscow requires Washington's backing, and the American administration's position was unclear until very recently as well. It may have been developed during U.S. President George W. Bush's recent trip to the Middle East, enabling Livni to give Moscow a firm answer now.
In addition, Israel is suspicious of Russia's intentions to pay particular attention to a Israeli-Syrian settlement. The Israeli leadership has still not decided how much it wants to begin a dialog with Syria. So there are a number of reasons for Jerusalem not to want to talk about a conference centering on Syrian issues.
At the same time, they understand in Jerusalem that Moscow plays a significant role in the international arena, and so they do not want to give a definite negative response to the Russia idea either. Livni is likely to ask Lavrov not to force the issue by setting a deadline for the holding of the conference and to lower its profile by inviting participants of the lowest possible rank. Analysts say that would be a way for Israel to eviscerate the idea without openly rejecting it.
Visas Not Cancelled
Originally, the main goal of the visit was the signing o an agreement on canceling the visa procedure between Israel and Russia. The Israelis had approved the text before the New Year, but Moscow, although it approved the text, said it needed more time for interagency conciliation. The Israeli Foreign Ministry hoped to the end that Russia would prepare the necessary documents on time. That did not happen, however. Now Israel is hoping that the signing will take place soon, and has emphasized that any member of the cabinet can sign the agreement, not just the foreign minister.
If the signing is delayed too long, it may jeopardize the whole agreement. The main support in the Israeli government for the cancellation of visas came from Our Home Is Israel Party member Deputy Prime Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Lieberman announced yesterday that his party was leaving the collation government. If the visa agreement encounters further complications, it will not have strong backing in Israel.
Disputed Property
It was made known yesterday that Livni would have one more meeting on her schedule, with chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society and head of the Russian Audit Chamber Sergey Stepashin to talk about the return of the Jerusalem justice court building and the territory of the Sergiev guesthouse to Russia. Russia and Israel are still negotiating the amount of compensation for Israel for the first property. The money will be used to build a new courthouse in downtown Jerusalem.
The main issues over the return of the guesthouse have been settled as well. The last complication was settling the legal responsibility for any suits filed after the transfer of the property to Russia. Then the opposition in the Israeli parliament unexpectedly formed a lobby against the transfer of the Sergiev guesthouse. Last week, Likud MP Michael Eitan sent an official enquiry to the Israeli Foreign Ministry asking for an explanation of its motives for handing the real estate over to Russia.
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Majalli Wahabi responded to the enquiry from the podium of the Knesset, confirming the agreement in principle on the transfer of the property. Wahabi said that the agreement is based on a promise made to Russian President Vladimir Putin by former prime minister of Israel Ariel Sharon. Wahabi emphasized that the residents of the building would remain there and that a final agreement had not yet been reached.
“What is the logic? What do we get in return? I understand that some kind of promise was made, but so what? Can a prime minister make promises just like that? Take what you want?” Eitan fumed.
“I was not at those meetings, but I will check on what was promised and send you a written response,” the diplomat responded. Wahabi made a comparison with similar gestures made to Jordan before the signing of the peace agreement with it.
“There we received peace. What do we receive here?” Eitan asked.
Kommersant has learned that a suit is being prepared for filing in the Supreme Justice Court to stop the transfer of the real estate to Russia. “Even if an agreement is reached between the Israeli and Russian Foreign Ministries, that won't mean that it can be implemented immediately. The Foreign Ministry lacks the authority to sort out the legal aspects of such a case,” Ariel Bulshtein, lawyer for the suit's initiative group, told Kommersant. “Under Israeli legislation, only an inheritor can receive property rights. If Russia is one, it should present the appropriate documents to the Justice Ministry, and no negotiations would be necessary.” Bulshtein added that the Supreme Court is most likely to halt the implementation of the agreement after the suit is filed, and consideration of the case could take years.
Grigory Asmolov
All the Article in Russian as of Jan. 17, 2008
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