Moscow and the Hopes Raised by the Patriarch

Nida Al-Watan, Lebanon, March 10

Recently, Russia joined France in warning against the dangers of the continuing deterioration of the political situation in Lebanon and the country’s inability to form an emergency government. Russia knows Lebanon well. Ever since the days of the Soviet Union, Moscow has been interested in Lebanon. The Soviet ambassadors who worked in Beirut always departed the country at the end of their term as if they were leaving a second homeland. They all wrote notes and letters demonstrating their attachment to this country and their love for its people. A case in point is the memoir of the last Soviet ambassador to Lebanon, Vasily Kolotosha, which contains hundreds of anecdotes about his term in Beirut that provide detail about everything from Lebanon’s cooking and hospitality to our political system. In the post-Soviet era, Moscow continued to maintain close relations with Lebanon and its various political forces, especially with Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and his son, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri. More recently, over the past few years, Moscow has hosted delegations of various Lebanese political forces that began to feel the vitality of the Russian role in the region, especially after Moscow’s involvement in the Syrian crisis. Now it seems like Russia is planning on playing a greater role in Lebanon. Last week, a meeting was held between Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Abu Dhabi. Lavrov commended Hariri for his efforts to unify the Lebanese people. Next week, Lavrov will host a delegation of Hizbullah officials in Moscow, in an effort to enlist their support for a government. The Patriarch of the Maronite Church, Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, also spoke about the diplomatic stalemate in the country, calling to “convene an international conference to save Lebanon.” In doing so, the Russians have acknowledged that Al-Rahi has become, for many Lebanese citizens — regardless of religious affiliation — one of the last hopes in saving their country from collapse. Even more than France, Russia has emerged as the international player most capable of preventing the collapse of the Lebanese state and the failure of Lebanon’s top officials to salvage their country. – Tony Francis (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)