2023-10-16 17:44:54
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed concern Monday about the “catastrophic increase” in the number of civilian casualties in Gaza and a possible escalation of the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Hamas into a “regional war.”
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According to the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin expressed “extreme concern over the large-scale escalation of hostilities, accompanied by a catastrophic increase in the number of civilian casualties and a worsening of the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip”, during a telephone conversation with his Iranian, Egyptian, Syrian counterparts and the president of the Palestinian Authority.
The leaders “unanimously” expressed the need for “a rapid ceasefire and the establishment of a humanitarian truce in order to urgently provide assistance to all those in need,” added the Kremlin in a press release.
Vladimir Putin’s counterparts also “underlined the seriousness of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the need to lift the blockade for the urgent supply of medicine, food and other vital goods”.
“Serious concerns were also expressed about the likelihood of the conflict degenerating into a regional war,” the Kremlin said.
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Vladimir Putin said he was ready to “coordinate efforts with all constructive partners in order to put an end to hostilities as quickly as possible and stabilize the situation”, including via the draft resolution submitted to the UN Security Council by Russia, which aims to establish an “immediate, balanced and non-politicized humanitarian truce”.
The Russian president once again considered that a lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must involve the “creation of an independent Palestinian state”.
Vladimir Putin spoke during several telephone calls on Monday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi, Iranian Ebrahim Raïssi, Syrian Bashar al-Assad and that of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas. He also plans to do so with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The current crisis is “at the center of President” Putin’s attention, assured his diplomatic advisor Yuri Ushakov.
Russia traditionally maintains good relations with both Israeli and Palestinian authorities, as well as several regional players such as Syria, Egypt and Iran.
She is also a member of the Middle East Quartet alongside the US, EU and UN, meant to mediate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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Since Hamas’ bloody attack on Israeli territory on October 7, followed by an intense military response from Israel, Vladimir Putin has called for negotiations between the two parties, saying that the conflict was a “clear example of “failure of United States policy.”
On Friday, he deemed the siege of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli army “unacceptable,” comparing it to the terrible siege of the Soviet city of Leningrad by the Nazis during the Second World War.
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