Acknowledging Israel’s right to self-defence in the
face of Hamas’ attacks of “unprecedented brutality,” Russian President Vladimir
Putin emphasised the “creation of an independent Palestine State with East
Jerusalem as its capital” to resolve the issue, reported TASS.
Russia proceeds “from the postulate, a negotiated
solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has no alternatives,” said Putin
while speaking at the Commonwealth of Independent States summit here on Friday.
“The negotiations’ goal should be the implementation
of the United Nations’ Two-State formula, which implies the creation of an
independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital, coexisting in
peace and security with Israel, which, of course, as we have seen, has come under
an attack of unprecedented brutality. Of course, it has the right to defend
itself. It has the right to ensure its peaceful existence,” Putin said at the
summit, stressing that “it is crucial to work for resolving this issue by
peaceful means.”
“The way I see it, in a situation like this and in
this particular place, there is simply no alternative (to two independent States),”
he concluded, according to TASS.
Putin’s visit to Kyrgyzstan marked his first foreign
trip following the issuance of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal
Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes. The two-day trip included his participation
in a CIS summit, a regional organisation comprised of former Soviet republics.
Putin’s international presence came amid discussions about Russia’s diminishing
influence in the region, reported Al Jazeera.
Despite rarely leaving Russia since the deployment of
troops in Ukraine in early 2022, Putin is expected to travel to China for the
third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing next week.
It’s worth noting that Kyrgyzstan and China are not
ICC members and are not subject to its jurisdiction.
During a meeting with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov,
Putin reaffirmed Russia’s status as a key trade partner and the largest
investor in Kyrgyzstan, emphasizing their commitment to furthering cooperation.
Putin praised the significant growth in Russian-Kyrgyz
trade, although some Western analysts suspect this growth may be connected to
Russian businesses bypassing sanctions.
“I would like to thank the president for the
invitation. We have good reasons (to be here), but even without reason, this
visit is long overdue,” Putin said.
Last week, the central bank of Kyrgyzstan urged local
banks to enhance controls to comply with Western sanctions against Moscow. In
July, the United States imposed sanctions on four Kyrgyz companies for
re-exporting electronic components and technology to Russia, as reported by Al
Jazeera.
Putin is expected to partake in ceremonies marking the
20th anniversary of the opening of Russia’s airbase near Kant, Kyrgyzstan,
which enables Moscow to project influence in the region.
In March, the ICC issued a warrant for Putin and
Russia’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, over allegations of deporting
Ukrainian children to Russia. Russia, not recognizing the ICC’s authority,
rejected the warrant as “illegal.”
To ensure diplomatic representation in previous
instances, Russia had sent Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in place of Putin to
the BRICS summit in August, Al Jazeera reported.
ANI
