According to his adviser, Russian President Vladimir Putin will phone the leaders of Israel and the Arab world today amid concerns in Moscow that Israel’s Gaza incursion could spark a wider regional confrontation.
The crisis, which has soured relations with longtime ally Israel and complicated ties with Iran, which supports the militant group Hamas, has been repeatedly urged upon in talks by Russia to end.
According to a Kremlin adviser quoted by the Interfax news agency, “The president has already spoken to the presidents of Syria and Iran.”
More phone calls would be made during the day with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, according to Ushakov.
Since Israel was preparing to launch a ground offensive targeted at executing Hamas leaders, concerns for Palestinians besieged in the relentlessly bombed Gaza Strip have increased.
A day after waves of its fighters breached Gaza’s heavily fortified border and killed over 1,400 people—the majority of them civilians—Israel declared war on the Palestinian Islamist organization.
Iran, a supporter of Hamas, has threatened that an invasion of Gaza would be met with retaliation, raising concerns about a wider confrontation that would involve other nations.
Moscow, which has been fighting its offensive in Ukraine for almost 20 months, has repeatedly demanded a cease-fire and offered to act as a mediator.
