A “gift from heaven” for the Kremlin: the expression comes up repeatedly in the comments of Western diplomats and external observers. Israeli retaliation in the Gaza Strip, in response to the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas on October 7, constitutes a boon for Russia in its war against Ukraine and its confrontation against “the collective West”according to the expression in force in Moscow.
In the aftermath of these attacks, the Russian media barely concealed their satisfaction, despite the risk of a general conflagration in the Middle East, including Syria. Beyond a part of fantasy – the idea that the United States would already be incapable of supplying arms to both Kiev and Tel Aviv – there is indeed a reality: the resurgence of the conflict in the Middle East offers a welcome diversion for Moscow and weakens the Western position on Ukraine. “The situation can work in Russia’s favor”summarized the popular daily Moskovsky Komsomolets from October 9.
The issue goes beyond the simple relegation of the Ukrainian issue in the hierarchy of television news information. This concerns the efforts made by the West since February 2022 to isolate Russia and rally countries designated as belonging to the Global South to their cause. These efforts, crowned with relative success, are about to be swept aside, both in public opinion and among a certain number of governments, in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America. Isolation threatens… the Western bloc.
“Blessed bread for Putin”
The brutality of the Israeli response and the support it enjoys in Western capitals weaken two pillars of Western discourse on Ukraine: Russia’s non-compliance with international law and the crimes committed by its army. The comparison was not long in being made between the Russian and Israeli occupations, which Westerners refuse to put on the same level. In the same way, the differentiated treatment of possible war crimes revives the discourse – old and recurring in the Israeli-Palestinian issue – of ” Two weights, two measures ” and a “hypocrisy” Western. In other words, it is difficult, in the prevailing fever, to avoid comparisons between the Russian bombings on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and the Israeli decision to cut electricity to Gaza?
“It’s holy bread for Putin”recognizes a European diplomat. “All the discourse and efforts of Westerners are weakenedalso notes Tatiana Kastouéva-Jean, of the French Institute of International Relations. This is a boon for Moscow, which hopes to emerge from its isolation on the international scene thanks to the opening of this new front in the Middle East. »
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