Russia Backs Israel's Right To Defend, Independent Palestine State. Hamas Hails Putin's Mediation Offer

Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed Israel's right to defend itself but also emphasised that the creation of a Palestinian state is the only way to resolve the conflict.

Israel-Hamas War: The ongoing Israel-Hamas war, whose root cause is the decades-old conflict between Israel and Palestine, continues to inflict damage on both sides which is expected to intensify further in days to come. Countries have taken their stance with some supporting Israel while many backing the Palestine cause. Russia, which has called for restraint from both factions, has now backed Israel's right to self-defence in the face of Hamas' attacks of "unprecedented brutality", However, Russian President Vladimir Putin also emphasised the "creation of an independent Palestine state with East Jerusalem as its capital" to resolve the issue, TASS reported, as quoted by ANI.

While speaking at the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on Friday, Putin said that Russia proceeds "from the postulate, a negotiated solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has no alternatives."

"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 further said, adding 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 said, according to TASS, reported ANI.

Meanwhile, in a statement, the Palestinian militant group Hamas welcomed Putin's stance on the war and also praised his offer of mediation between the conflicting parties. 

"[We] appreciate Russian President Vladimir Putin's position regarding the ongoing Zionist aggression against our people and his rejection of the Gaza siege, the cutting of relief supplies, and the targeting of safe civilians there," the statement read, as quoted by CNN.

Putin's remarks have come at a time when Russia continues its military action against Ukraine and is being investigated by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.