Russia vs. US: One Of Them Knows Proper Mideast Diplomacy

Russia may be opposed to active intervention in Libya--including instituting a no-fly zone, but Russia does know a war criminal when it sees one, like Gaddafi:

President Dmitry Medvedev banned Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi and his family from Russia and from carrying out financial transactions in the country, the Kremlin said on Monday. The Kremlin chief added Qaddafi and his family to a list of banned people from Russia in a decree signed on March 10.


Qaddafi on Sunday urged Russia, China and India to invest in Libya’s oil sector, state television said.

It said Qaddafi had made the appeal during talks with the ambassadors of the three countries.

“In the discussions with the ambassadors ... a call was made for the companies of those countries to invest in the Libyan oil industry,” it said.

Libya’s oil exports have been heavily disrupted by fighting, lack of staff, international sanctions and refusal of international banks to fund deals in the wake of a bloody uprising.

Good for them. Whatever message Gaddafi may have read into Russia's refusal to intervene in Libya has now been clarified: Gaddafi is not going to get a free ride from Russia.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Obama administration. Apparently, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei--Ahmadinejad’s chief-of-staff is getting a visa to enter the US:

The Iranian press is reporting (here, in Persian) that the State Department has granted Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s chief-of-staff, a visa to come to the United States. If true, once again it seems that President Barack Obama is reaching out to the Iranian regime at the very time it is seeking to crush protesters in the streets. That would be disgraceful, but, alas, disgrace seems to be the core of the Obama doctrine.

Of course, it could be that this is just being printed to cause trouble. On the other hand, when everyone was assuming that Iran was not going to be able to send its ships through the Suez Canal, Iran newspaper were saying that Iran would be going through--and they did.

The first message that Iran and the Middle East received, based on the US abandonment of the Libyan rebels, was that the US cannot be counted on to help its friends (or at least the enemy of its enemies). Now it is clear that the US does not even take the most token measures against its enemies.

Diplomacy does not mean never having to say 'no'.

Coming on top of the flip-flopping of the Obama administration in its support--or lack thereof--of Mubarak, based on its actions towards both Libya and Iran: I would say that message is coming in loud and clear.

Technorati Tag: Libay and Iran.