Russia and Lebanon Relations Advance

Lebanon’s Hezbollah, a political and military Shia Islamist party with enormous control in the country, is reportedly planning on opening a representative office in Moscow. The development this week follows the high-level meeting last month between Mohammad Raad, a member of the Lebanese Parliament and Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

Hezbollah, which began to form as an organization in 1982, is backed by Iran with money, weapons and political support. Hezbollah is categorized as a terrorist organization by many countries with no real legitimacy in Lebanon. The report, which came to public knowledge on 6 April 2021, is significant because Hezbollah could see this development with Russia as an official sign they have gained legitimacy. Thus, it could embolden Hezbollah. If Russia continues down this path with Hezbollah, expect more involvement in dialogue between Israel, Hezbollah and Iran with Moscow as the mediator. It is still hard to tell if Moscow can reduce tension between the parties. Moreover, this report is important since Russia is heavily involved in multiple countries, both militarily and politically, in the Middle East. Russia may be trying to cut the US out of Lebanese affairs and assert itself as the greater of the two.