Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State that Moscow is ready to mediate in the Palestinian-Israeli settlement.
"Collective efforts are more than needed in the interests of an early ceasefire and stabilization of the situation on the ground. I would like to emphasize that Russia is ready to coordinate with all constructively minded partners. We proceed from the belief that there is no alternative to resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through negotiations," Putin said.
Commenting on the current situation in the region, the president said that civilian casualties in the conflict will be completely unacceptable.
"Well, the most important thing is that civilian casualties will be absolutely unacceptable ... The main thing now is to stop the bloodshed," Putin said.
The United States attempted to solve the political Palestinian-Israeli problem with the help of certain economic incentive measures, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
The aggravation of the situation in the Middle East is the result of the failed policy of the United States, which was not concerned with finding a compromise in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Russian leader said.
"The Middle East Quartet of international mediators was not used. Under far-fetched pretexts, the United States actually blocked this format, which was unique and, by the way, had a mandate approved by the relevant UN resolution. An attempt was made, with the help of certain economic incentive measures, to solve a political problem, an underlying problem, and namely the creation of an independent Palestinian state," Putin said at a meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State in a narrow format.
The use of heavy equipment by Israel as part of a ground operation in the Gaza Strip's residential areas is a complex matter, fraught with serious consequences, and without equipment, it is even more difficult to carry out such an operation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
"We are hearing about plans to prepare for a ground operation in the Gaza Strip. But you and I understand, to put it quite semi-professionally, that the use of heavy equipment in residential areas is a complex matter, fraught with serious consequences for all parties. And without equipment, it is even more difficult to carry out the same operations in the same residential buildings," Putin said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier called on the sides to cease hostilities. Moscow noted that a settlement of the crisis is possible only on the basis of the "two-state" formula endorsed by the UN Security Council, which provides for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip, prompting Israel to declare a state of war the following day and launch retaliatory strikes. On Monday, Israel ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food and fuel. Both Israel and Palestine have reported more than 1,000 deaths and thousands of injuries as a result of the escalation.