Last week Israel concluded a deal with Syria, via Russia, to return an Israeli woman who crossed the border to Syria earlier this month. In exchange, Israel returned two Syrian shepherds who crossed into Israel this month and agreed on the early release of a Golan Heights woman who had been convicted of incitement. However, all the above was the less controversial part of the deal. It was later revealed by the media (and at first censored by Israel while officially denied by Syria) that Russia received more than US $1 million from Israel to finance the delivery of Russian COVID-19 vaccines to Syria. 

Russia's vaccine, Sputnik V, bears symbolic, political and economic significance. As a result of the prestige of having been the first COVID-19 vaccine to be approved in the world, the economic gains involved and for other reasons, Sputnik V is providing new global leverage for Russia in a world desperate for solutions to the pandemic. This is particularly significant because Russia's current economic condition does not allow Moscow to throw money around easily. Therefore, Russia often uses what is known as "technical-military cooperation," that is, selling defense products or providing other military assistance such as advisers to increase its international presence. The vaccine provides meaningful soft power leverage that is perceived far more favorably by the international community than military outreach. While Russia's military cooperation is mostly restricted to non-Western countries, the vaccine is gradually attracting the interest of leading Western countries such as Germany (Germany's use of Sputnik V, however, depends on the vaccine’s approval by the relevant European regulatory authority). 

If media reports about the deal are accurate, the deal culminated in a positive result for the three parties involved, yet Russia emerged as the winner. First, it managed to free an Israeli woman and successfully broker a deal between regional foes, which solidifies its position as a major player and intermediary in the Middle East. Furthermore, it managed to negotiate an agreement between an American ally, Israel, and the sanctioned, pariah Syria. In practice, the agreement demonstrates Russia's good connections with conflicting parties in the region, Israel and Syria, and reflects the success of its strategy of maintaining good relations with all parties to a conflict. Symbolically, this deal is not in the spirit of the latest American sanctions, based on the 2019 Caesar Act, that restrict international parties from conducting transactions or striking agreements with the Syrian regime. Israel appears to have done exactly that, although in the name of a humanitarian cause. Furthermore, it was conducted through another target of US sanctions — Russia — that is severely criticized by the United States and the West for its human rights practices and malign subversive involvement in the affairs of other states through cyberattacks and other means.

The new American administration didn't comment on the deal, at least not publicly. This might reflect Syria's low priority on the Biden administration's agenda. The muted American response could also suggest that other US allies in the Middle East can coordinate with Russia on humanitarian issues (a broadly interpreted term) in Syria without criticism or repercussions from the US administration.