Putin blames US for Israeli-Hamas conflict

“I believe many would agree with me that it is a glaring example of the failures of the US Middle East policies. They tried to monopolize the peace settlement, but unfortunately paid no attention to searching for compromises that would be acceptable for both parties,” the Russian leader explained on Tuesday.

Instead, Washington put pressure on both sides in an attempt to impose its own solutions on them, he added.

The US “never took into account the core interests of the Palestinian people,” Putin claimed.

Those interests primarily involve the creation of an independent Palestinian nation state, as outlined in resolutions of the UN Security Council, he noted.

Putin made the remarks during a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani in Moscow.

The Russian president added he believed the two nations were united in prioritizing the minimization of harm done to civilians by both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Other senior Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, had previously blamed the US for the renewed hostilities. The top Russian diplomat suggested on Monday that the so-called quartet of Middle East mediators – which includes the US, Russia, the EU and the UN – should take a leading role in peace talks. The US, he said, had sidelined this mechanism to “monopolize” the process for its own benefit.

During the meeting, al-Sudani said further escalation in the fighting in Gaza would lead to the obliteration of the besieged enclave.

“There is now a difficult and dangerous development of events in Palestine,” he stated.

“This is the natural result of Israel repeatedly violating the rights of Palestinians. The international community has been silent, unable to fulfil its obligations under internationally recognised resolutions.”

The latest escalation between Hamas and Israel began early on Saturday, when the Palestinian fighters launched a surprise attack on multiple locations along the Gaza border in response to Israel’s repeated aggression against Palestinians and desecration of the al-Aqsa Mosque.

Israeli officials estimate that more than 900 people have been killed in the Hamas assault and over 2,700 have been wounded.

Israeli massive air strikes on the densely-populated Gaza Strip, has so far killed over 800 people.