Putin, Abbas discuss steps aimed at de-escalation in Gaza

MOSCOW (AA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has informed his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in a phone conversation about steps that Moscow is taking to help de-escalate the situation in Gaza and ensure uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to the millions of displaced survivors.

According to a Kremlin statement, Putin also promised that Russia will continue delivering humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave, including medicines and medical equipment.

“The importance of an early end to the bloodshed and the resumption of the political process of the Middle East settlement on a generally recognized international legal basis providing for the establishment of the State of Palestine within the borders of 1967 was emphasized.

“In this context, the Russian side expressed support for the efforts made by the Palestinian leadership led by Mahmoud Abbas,” the statement read.

Putin and Abbas also expressed their mutual intention to further strengthen friendly Russian-Palestinian relations.

Putin said an invitation to Abbas to visit Russia remains effective, which can be made at a mutually acceptable time.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since October 7, killing more than 20,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring several thousands of others, according to health authorities in the enclave. With health infrastructure destroyed as hospitals have been targeted one after another, most of those wounded remain without care.

The attacks have also left Gaza in ruins with 60% of the coastal territory’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million people displaced amid severe scarcity of food and clean water, as humanitarian assistance continues being blocked out.