VZCZCXRO0530
PP RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHLN RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHMO #1582/01 1671411
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 161411Z JUN 09 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3825
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 001582 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL IS RS XF
SUBJECT:  MOSCOW CONSIDERS THE PRESIDENT'S CAIRO SPEECH SIGNIFICANT, 
BUT NOT REVOLUTIONARY 
 
¶1.  Summary:  The President's June 4 Cairo speech received a 
generally positive response in the Moscow press.  Russia's Muslim 
leaders were similarly upbeat, and they expressed hope for better 
relations between West and East and an inclusive global 
conversation.  Many commentators questioned whether the speech will 
truly lead to a new era in U.S. relations with the Muslim world, and 
some argued that just one speech cannot overcome the serious rift 
that has developed.  Georgiy Mirskiy, a Middle East expert at the 
World Economy and International Relations Institute, warned that the 
President's pressure on Tel Aviv could have a detrimental effect on 
the future of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.  Pro-Kremlin 
daily Izvestiya noted similarities between the President's speech 
and comments made over the years by Putin, implying that Washington 
had followed Moscow's lead on Middle East policy.  End summary. 
 
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Russia's Muslims Generally Upbeat 
--------------------------------- 
¶2.  Russia's Muslim leaders were generally upbeat on the content of 
the President's June 4 speech at Cairo University.  Rushan Abbyasov, 
head of the International Department of the Union of Muftis of 
Russia, said the speech could become an impulse for new relations 
between West and East.  Abbyasov noted that this was particularly 
important for Russians, who have always been a bridge between these 
two civilizations.  Looking forward to the President's upcoming 
visit to Russia, Gulnur Gaziyev, a professor at the Moscow Islamic 
University and the primary editor of the site www.muslims.ru, said 
it is important to understand what the new Administration's foreign 
policy will be, and that in the midst of the global crisis, "into 
the old single polar world must enter a new philosophy, which does 
not ignore the views of single countries or ethnic or religious 
groups." 
 
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Significant, But Not Revolutionary 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  The President's speech received a generally positive reception 
within the Russian media and among commentators who deemed the 
speech historic, although they asked if it would be enough to 
overcome hostility toward the U.S. within the Muslim world.  The 
Russian press also used the speech as an opportunity to discuss the 
President's willingness to pursue diplomacy abroad, even with 
"unfriendly" countries, which several media outlets described as a 
departure from the Bush Administration's approach to diplomacy. 
 
¶4.  The President's speech competed for media attention with the 
International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, which dominated 
television.  Channel 1 and NTV, two of the national TV networks, 
reported on the speech, as did all major newspapers. 
 
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Questioning the Speech's Effectiveness 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  Several media outlets lauded the speech as important, but were 
skeptical that the President's words were enough for a new beginning 
in the U.S. relationship with the Muslim world.  Rossiya, a 
government-owned television station that broadcasts nationally, 
argued that the rift in the relationship was too wide to improve 
relations anytime soon, while Rossiyskaya Gazeta, a government-owned 
newspaper, commented, "[It] may go down in history as the day when 
Obama knocked on the door of the Arab world closed to his 
predecessors.  But surely, one speech is not enough...." 
 
¶6.  Pointing to U.S. actions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, 
Yevgeniy Satanovskiy, President of the Institute of Middle Eastern 
Studies, argued in Komsomolskaya Pravda that when the President said 
the U.S. wants to improve relations with Muslims, "Washington's 
words conflict with its deeds."  He also noted the difficulty 
inherent in the President's expression of support for the 
Palestinian people when the U.S. maintained a strategic relationship 
with Israel. 
 
¶7.  Several reports discussed the potential impact of the 
President's speech on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and covered 
the responses from pro-Israel groups.  Georgiy Mirskiy, a Middle 
East expert at the World Economy and International Relations 
Institute, commented in Vremya Novostei, a centrist, politically 
focused newspaper, that the President must understand that 
Netanyahu's return to power has not helped the chances for resuming 
peace talks, and cautioned that pressing Tel Aviv too hard to make 
concessions could "ruin all hopes for resuming the peace talks." 
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What about Russia? 
------------------ 
 
¶8.  Dmitri Babich, writing for RIA Novosti, thought that the 
President did not deviate from the "guidelines of U.S. policy in the 
 
MOSCOW 00001582  002 OF 002 
 
 
Middle East and Afghanistan," but did demonstrate his ability as a 
"salesman of unsalable stock."  Citing the President's need for the 
support of Arabs and Israelis, as well as Americans, Babich said 
that the President must demonstrate progress in the peace process 
soon.  Russia, he argued, is crucial to resolving conflicts in the 
Middle East, and he speculated that the President's next speech to 
the Muslim world would specifically mention Russia's role. 
 
¶9.  Izvestiya, a pro-Kremlin daily, thought the President's comments 
on Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq sounded almost identical to 
statements made by Putin and other Russian officials over the last 
decade.  Referring to the speech's contents, Izvestiya wrote, "What 
has become a revelation for the West has already been proposed by 
Moscow a long time ago." 
BEYRLE