Putin calls Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas and requests a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas

Netanyahu was not Putin’s only interlocutor. The Russian President also consulted with Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

This is not the first time that the Russian president has presented himself as a potential mediator. Last week, Putin was in the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan to attend an international summit and meet with the Kyrgyz president. This was the first time that Putin traveled abroad since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him over the Russians’ deportation of Ukrainian children.

He said during the summit: “Russia is ready to work with all constructive partners.” According to the Kremlin, the Russian president had already made contacts with both Israel and Palestine. At the summit, he also said it was important to end the “bloodshed.”

Last week, just days after the bloody raids by Hamas, Putin suggested that the conflict demonstrated “the failed policy of the United States in the Middle East.” He also did not expect a “close end” to the fight at that time.