Moscow (National Times) Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Wednesday, addressed the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip noting that it “does not look much like a war,” rather, “it looks like is a total destruction of the civilian population.”

This statement does not come isolated from a thread of conversation in which Putin began by noting “what is happening in Gaza now in response to that terrorist attack in Israel,” adding that “we oppose terrorism in all its forms, including attacks against civilians in any place and in any country.”

Moreover, Putin underscored that Washington was responsible for the escalation in the Middle East when it decided to attempt to solve the “crisis” single-handedly.

“We believe that this is the result of the US policy of monopolizing the Israeli-Palestinian settlement and pushing aside all the international instruments created specifically to resolve this complex issue collectively… Perhaps someone in the US administration believes that the fewer opinions are there on the issue, the easier it would be to get the results, but they were obviously wrong,” Putin said.

Additionally, Putin emphasized that Moscow is relying on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s involvement in resolving this “crisis”, acknowledging his significant influence both regionally and within the Islamic world.
Furthermore, Russia’s position on the Gaza Strip remains unaffected by political conditions and has been consistent since Soviet times. The Russian president noted that the Soviet Union recognized Palestinian statehood as early as 1988.