Russia’s President Vladimir Putin spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday. According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, the French side initiated the call.
“It was the French side’s idea,” Peskov said. The Russian state media’s explanation of the call was brief and lacked details about what was discussed.
Both Paris and Moscow have interests in the Middle East. However, it is unclear if that aspect was on the agenda.
There is a general lack of discussion about Russia’s policy in the Middle East these days. A similar radio silence is also occurring regarding China’s role.
What happened to Russia and China and their Middle East policies?
Over the years, both countries have appeared to expand their influence in the region. This included Russia and China moving closer toward cooperation with Iran.
The Islamic Republic and Russia are strategic partners, and China and Iran have a 25-year comprehensive cooperation agreement. However, Iran recently fought a 12-day war with Israel, and neither Beijing nor Moscow appeared particularly interested.
What does Russia’s state media indicate that Moscow cares about these days?
Moscow is still fighting a multi-year war in Ukraine. Russia has condemned a recent Ukrainian attack on “peaceful cities” in Russia.
Putin is also focused on Germany and other European countries in relation to their policies. Russia does not seem to be hinting at any peace deal with Ukraine. Moscow also appears to be uninterested in collaborating with the US on an Iran deal.
Did the Israeli war on Iran reduce Russia’s influence in the region? Perhaps.
The only Russian TASS state media article focusing on the Middle East on Wednesday was a piece about Israel’s operations in Syria.
Per TASS’s report, the IDF said that “Israeli troops completed a nighttime operation in Syria to apprehend a group of radicals suspected of ties with Iran.”
“According to an announcement made by the IDF, the Israeli troops conducted a targeted operation in two border areas in southern Syria, while the decision to carry it out was made following intelligence gathered during interrogations over recent weeks,” the Russian news agency said.
China has also taken a break from influencing the Middle East. Beijing and Moscow had both been focused on the Gulf and other countries in the region in terms of their policies. They also conducted joint naval drills with Iran over the past years.
One notable exception to Beijing’s seemingly disinterested stance concerning the Middle East is Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s upcoming visit to Egypt.
China’s Xinhua news outlet said, “China looks forward to working with all parties to consolidate the BRICS strategic partnership and hopes... Qiang’s upcoming visit to Egypt will carry forward the traditional friendship between the two countries, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Wednesday.”
This is important. The report noted that “Premier Li will attend the 17th BRICS summit upon invitation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 5 to July 8.”
“At the invitation of the prime minister of Egypt, Mostafa Kamal Madbouly, Li will pay an official visit to Egypt from July 9 to 10.”
BRICS is a key economic bloc that enables Iran to collaborate with non-Western countries.
Xinhua media also said that a spokesperson for the government “noted that China looks forward to working with all parties to consolidate the BRICS strategic partnership, making contributions to uphold multilateralism, promote common development, and improve global governance” to advance “the high-quality development of the greater BRICS cooperation.”
China and Egypt are strategic partners. “The bilateral relationship has flourished, political mutual trust has been deepened, and practical cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results,” Xinhua continued.
“During the visit, Premier Li will have in-depth exchanges of views with Egyptian leaders on developing China-Egypt relations, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation, and issues of common concern,” the report noted.
“China looks forward to promoting the traditional friendship with Egypt through this visit, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation, and promoting China-Egypt relations toward the goal of building a community with a shared future for the new era,” the spokesperson said.