Amid Israel-Hamas war intensifying and death toll rising, more nations have joined in the diplomatic fray in an attempt to secure a ceasefire in the ongoing battle.
World powers including Russia and China are making efforts with the Middle East leaders to avoid the bloodshed and protect the civilians getting ‘crushed’ in the conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Arab powers including Iran, Israel, Palestine, Syria and Egypt on Monday, said Kremlin.
Kremlin said that Putin spoke over telephone with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "We believe that the main thing right now in this situation is to immediately cease the fire and begin the process of a political settlement," Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov was quoted by state news outlets.
"The Middle East conflict is old of character but now it is necessary to take active, sharp steps in order to stop this escalation which is unprecedented," Ushakov said.
Earlier, Russian news agency TASS reported that Putin spoke with Assad and agreed on more humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza.
Though China remained silent initially, it has now started making diplomatic efforts to end the war. Both Russia and China are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and has good relations with the Middle East. Both nations had pointed out that the fundamental issue at the heart of the conflict is the lack of justice for the Palestinians.
China's foreign minister on Monday called for a ceasefire to halt the bloodshed in Israel. China has also suggested a meeting with its Russian counterpart and other major world powers to work on strategies to avoid a ‘catastrophic’ event.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the Israel-Hamas conflict with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing ahead of a visit by President Vladimir Putin to China.
Also, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi discussed possible steps the countries can take to end the fighting. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Erdogan's office said the president had told Raisi that Turkey was working to get humanitarian aid into Gaza and repeated his call to refrain from steps that could exacerbate the situation.
