Putin Calls For Peace Talks In Israel-Hamas War
Russian President Vladimir Putin jumped into the Middle East fray on Monday with a call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He expressed Moscow’s intent to negotiate an end to the expanding war between Israel and Hamas.
Putin made several calls to regional leaders indicating his intentions. The Kremlin said it is positioned to move toward “ending the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation and achieving a peaceful settlement through political and diplomatic means.”
Russia also introduced a ceasefire resolution in the United Nations Security Council.
Putin shared results of discussions he held with leaders of Egypt, Iran, the Palestinian Authority and Syria. He said all agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire and a “humanitarian truce.”
The Russian president also expressed concerns to the Israeli leader over the possibility of the war spreading throughout the Middle East.
Putin wasted no time leveling blame for the crisis on U.S. policy failures. He claimed in previous days that Washington did not take into account the needs of the Palestinians, leading to the recent explosion of violence in Israel.
While meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, Putin declared that “many people will agree with me that this is a vivid example of the failure of United States policy in the Middle East.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Monday that President Joe Biden will visit Israel this week.
An administration official said the Democrat will recommit the U.S. to solidarity with Israel and Washington’s “ironclad commitment to its security.” Blinken also indicated the president will address Israeli leaders on the need to avoid civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip.
He asserted that Biden “will hear from Israel how it will conduct its operations in a way that minimizes civilian casualties and enables humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians in Gaza.”
This assistance, Blinken said, would be targeted to not benefit Hamas, though the way to achieve this goal was not explained.
Of course, Hamas terrorists specifically targeted Israeli civilians in their surprise attack, killing hundreds. Tel Aviv warned the one million residents of northern Gaza to evacuate to the south as a major ground offensive ensued.
