Letter From the Editors

The long road to a sustainable peace between Israel and Hamas began this week in Cairo, where the two warring parties held indirect talks involving the US and Qatar. The first step in the process, which is following US President Trump’s 20-point peace plan, is for Hamas to return the Israeli hostages it has been holding since Oct. 7, 2023 in exchange for Israel withdrawing its troops from Gaza. While there is good cause for optimism, many experts have expressed concern about the viability of the entire 20-point plan after the first point, which they call the easiest part, is completed. As Yevgeny Shestakov writes in RG, things may not go as smoothly once the parties are forced to address Hamas’s disarmament and its role in administering the exclave. And, Shestakov continues, if Trump wins the Nobel Peace Prize (which he seems to want very badly), he may very well lose interest in his own peace deal, causing the war to reignite.

But what do ordinary Palestinians think of all this? Two surveys by Palestinian polling agencies show a deep divide between opinions in Gaza itself, where respondents were more pessimistic about Hamas, and the West Bank, where Hamas seems to have more support. As Eastern Studies expert Ruslan Suleimanov explained to NGE, “Nothing else interests [Gazans] right now – neither political achievements [nor] the recognition of the independence of Palestine. All of this is completely irrelevant for us right now. The most important thing is that the war is over. As for who has achieved this, it does not make much difference to the Gazans, who have gone through hell over these past two years.”

Meanwhile, in the post-Soviet space, Georgia held municipal elections, with the pro-Russian ruling Georgian Dream party winning a “landslide victory.” As Georgy Dvali reports in Kommersant, even though the outcome was “entirely predictable,” the elections “failed to answer the intriguing, unresolved question of what awaits the country” and “exposed the chronic problems of Georgian politics.” Perhaps in anticipation of the foregone conclusion, some opposition parties called for an antigovernment protest to end the “Russian government” on that same day. In a fiery speech, one former prosecutor even called on the “virile might” at the rally to storm the presidential palace and “collect the keys.” Unfortunately for that “virile might,” Georgian special forces were waiting at the palace with tear gas, putting a quick end to the rally. In the meantime, as Igor Seleznyov writes in NG, Prime Minister Irakly Kobakhidze took offense at the West’s apparent lack of concern about the attempted coup, causing experts to suggest that the Georgian government might even downgrade diplomatic relations with the West in response.

Another party accused of being “pro-Russian,” Czechia’s ANO, swept parliamentary elections in the country this week. Now, the party’s billionaire leader, Andrej Babis, is poised to become prime minister for the second time. Babis earned the reputation of being “pro-Russian” because of his opposition to sending more weapons to Ukraine. But, as Nadezhda Melnikova writes in NG, “the degree of his commitment to rapprochement with Russia is exaggerated by his opponents.” Furthermore, as Anton Bespalov explains to Ekspert, in Europe, disagreement with the EU course is often presented as pursuit of Moscow’s interests. Bespalov goes on to say that while Euroskepticism is strong in Czechia, the country does not actually have a negative attitude toward the EU and recognizes the benefits of EU membership. As for Babis himself, Mikhail Vedernikov says he does not have a “clear political program,” but instead “plays on the most pressing topics that are close to the voters” – in this case, the green agenda, migration and other social policies.

Thus, the people have spoken. But will they get what they want? As often happens, their voices may be muffled by glory-seeking political bigwigs who give little thought to the means, so long as they justify the desired outcome.