Putin calls on ‘all sides’ in Middle East to show ‘reasonable restraint’

Russian President Vladimir Putin urges all sides in the Middle East to refrain from action that would trigger a new confrontation, which he warned would be fraught with catastrophic consequences for the region, the Kremlin says.

Putin, in his first publicly aired comments on Iran’s attack, says the root cause of the current instability in the Middle East is the unresolved conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

“Vladimir Putin expressed hope that all sides would show reasonable restraint and prevent a new round of confrontation fraught with catastrophic consequences for the entire region,” the Kremlin says.

In a phone conversation with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, “both sides stated that the root cause of the current events in the Middle East is the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” the Kremlin says.

“In this regard, the principled approaches of Russia and Iran in favor of an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, easing the difficult humanitarian situation, and creating conditions for a political and diplomatic settlement of the crisis were confirmed.”