On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin charged that the US has inflamed the Middle East by sending an aircraft carrier group there. He called for “compromise solutions” and expressed hope that common sense would win out.
The head of the Kremlin has referred to the upsurge in violence between Israel & the Palestinians as a stark illustration of the failure of American policy in the Middle East, which he claims has ignored the demands of the Palestinians.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that the country was bringing a carrier strike group, including the USS Gerald R. Ford, close to Israel in response to the unexpected attack by Hamas militants on Israel on Saturday.
Putin called the American decision, which was also sharply criticized by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, a mistake while addressing at an energy conference in Moscow.
“I fail to see why American aircraft carrier groups are being led into the Mediterranean Sea. Really, I don’t get the point. Is Lebanon going to be bombed or what?” he asked.
Or did they decide to make an effort to frighten someone? There are individuals there who have lost all fear. This is not the best way to handle the issue. The search for compromise solutions is necessary. Naturally, these behaviors are escalating the problem.
Putin, who is embroiled in a standoff with the West over Ukraine, accuses Washington of sidestepping a mechanism that had been established for attempting to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian dispute by seeking to resolve basic issues on its own without success.
“Now, we hear that Iran is being accused of a wide range of offenses without any supporting proof. Let’s wait and see if common reason wins out,” added Putin.
Tehran claimed on Tuesday that it was not a part of the attack by Hamas on Israel.
The Kremlin boss, who called the bloodshed in Israel awful, stressed that resolving the larger conflict will require addressing issues like the establishment of a Palestinian state.
He forewarned that any expansion of the conflict zone could have negative effects on several industries, including the energy industry.
“First of all, it might impact logistics, insurance, and freight,” Putin stated.
“Of course, it won’t impact (energy) production, however, it could affect all other components which determine the state of the world’s energy markets.”