Putin: "Israel-Palestine War a Humanitarian Disaster... Discussed Solutions with President Xi"

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed solutions to the Israel-Palestine war with Chinese President Xi Jinping, describing the explosion at a Gaza hospital as a "humanitarian disaster."

According to local Russian media on the 18th, President Putin met with reporters in Beijing, China, and said, "I cannot disclose everything, but we discussed many agendas between the two countries, including cooperation in economic, financial, political, and international fields," adding, "We also had detailed discussions about the situation in the Middle East." He explained that he exchanged views with President Xi on the war situation between Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the impact of external factors, including the Israel-Palestine war, on bilateral relations, he responded, "All these external factors are common threats and strengthen cooperation between the two countries."

Concerning the explosion at a Gaza hospital that resulted in over 500 deaths that day, he called it "a tragedy and a humanitarian disaster," expressing hope that "this will be a signal to end the conflict as soon as possible or at least for both sides to engage in dialogue." He further noted that Russia has always supported the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state as a solution to this issue.

President Putin also stated that he provided President Xi with detailed explanations about the situation in Ukraine, where Russia has been conducting a "special military operation" since February last year. Regarding the U.S. supplying ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) surface-to-surface missiles to Ukraine, he criticized it as "another mistake by the U.S. that only prolongs Ukraine's suffering."

Putin said that Ukraine is considering resolving the conflict through negotiations, calling it "a right change but insufficient." He urged, "If they want to resume negotiations, concrete measures such as repealing laws that prohibit negotiations must be taken."

Meanwhile, President Putin arrived in Beijing the day before to attend the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and held a three-hour meeting with President Xi that day. This was the first meeting between the two leaders in seven months since President Xi visited Russia last March.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.