Palestinians ‘Will Not Leave’ Gaza – Putin Demands End to Israel’s War
Putin urged for the reactivation of the Middle East Quartet as an honest broker of peace negotiations, accusing the US of disrupting its work.
Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded on Friday that Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip must end with the establishment of a “fully-fledged” Palestinian state, Anadolu news agency reported.
“The primary solution to the Palestinian problem is the establishment of a fully-fledged Palestinian state. The Russian side has upheld this position since the Soviet era,” he said as quoted by Anadolu during his meeting in Moscow with BRICS media managers.
The Russian president stressed that the Palestinians “will not leave” the Strip, warning that the region’s humanitarian crisis will only increase the number of those determined to “defend their interests,” the news agency said.
Putin also urged for the reactivation of the Middle East Quartet to resume meditation efforts to reach peace in the region and accused the United States of disrupting the work of the group.
“It was a mistake by the US to disrupt the work of the Quartet… It would have been easier to coordinate all the positions,” he stated.
“The US took over, monopolized the peace efforts, assuming full responsibility, and in the end, it failed,” the Russian president added.
The Middle East Quartet was established in 2002 consisting of the United Nations, the European Union, the US, and Russia and its mandate is primarily to help mediate peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel.
The Russian president revealed that the BRICS summit, which will be held in Kazan, between October 22-24, will discuss the Palestinian issue since it remains one of the major global issues, according to Anadolu.
Coordinating Efforts
The Russian president has recently met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to coordinate efforts on regional and global issues including Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon.
Putin and Pezeshkian said during the meeting on October 11 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, that they share a very close view of world affairs.
“We are actively working together in the international arena and our assessments of events taking place in the world are often very close,” Putin was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency TASS.
For his part, the Iranian president stressed that Iran and Russia share common stands.
“Our principles and our positions in the international arena are similar to yours,” Pezeshkian said addressing the Russian president.
The first meeting between the two leaders since the election of Pezeshkian was held on the sideline of the ‘Interrelation of Times and Civilizations – Basis of Peace and Development international forum’, which will be attended by other regional leaders, according to Euro News.
According to footage released by the Kremlin, Putin said at the international forum that he wants to establish a “new world order” to counter the West.
Euro News reported that, during the meeting, the Iranian president labeled the Israeli aggression on Lebanon as “savage” and “beyond description.”
Genocide in Gaza Continues
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 42,500 Palestinians have been killed, and 99,546 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(PC, Anadolu)