Russia has claimed it can play a role in resolving the conflict between Israel and Palestine as Vladimir Putin blamed US foreign policy for the escalation in the region. The comments from Moscow come despite Russia currently being the primary aggressor in the largest conflict in Europe since the Second World War, and also make no mention of Russia’s own role in the Middle East peace process since 2002 as part of the “Quartet” of powers with the UN, US and EU. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was speaking to both sides in the conflict and that it would seek to be involved in its settlement. He told a briefing on Wednesday that Moscow’s top priority was the safety of its own citizens in the region. Russia’s own history in the region is complex – and seemingly riddled with contradictions – as the former Soviet Union had supported the immediate recognition of the state of Israel along with the US after the Second World War. Mr Peskov said the conflict risked “spilling over” into other regions and stated Moscow has engaged in diplomatic efforts, despite limited progress. “But nevertheless we intend to keep making efforts and play our role in terms of providing assistance to seek ways to a settlement,” he said. In comments reported by Russian news agencies, Mr Peskov said the turmoil was “more than worrying. It has the potential to be dangerous by growing and spilling over from the current zone of the Arab-Israeli conflict”. “It is very important now that both sides show restraint,” he said in comments earlier on Russia’s Channel One on Tuesday. And while Mr Peskov on Tuesday said Russia has “a lot in common” with Israel, with many Israelis being former Russian citizens, Mr Putin blamed the US for ignoring the interests of Palestinians and their calls for an independent Palestinian state. The Russian president did not refer directly to Hamas in his own comments – the militant group that launched terror attacks across southern Israel on Saturday and which is heavily backed by Iran, a Russian ally. Moscow is accused of using Iranian Shahed drones in its war in Ukraine and has longstanding ties with Hamas, which sent a delegation to Moscow in March. Mr Putin hosted Iraq’s prime mininster Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani on Tuesday and took the opportunity during talks with his Iraqi counterpart – whose own country was invaded by the US after 9/11 – to attack American foreign policy in the region. “I think that many people will agree with me that this is a vivid example of the failure of United States policy in the Middle East,” Mr Putin said. He said Washington had sought to “monopolise” efforts at forging peace, and accused it of failing to seek workable compromises. The situation has meanwhile continued to escalate in Israel as the country said it sealed the Gaza strip, governed by Hamas, from getting supplies of food, fuel and medicine in a decision sharply criticised by the UN and several non-profits. Israel also vowed to intensify its response to the attack by Hamas with aerial bombardments on Gaza, seen by many as a prelude to a ground offensive. US president Joe Biden has pledged America’s full support for Israel and issued a warning to anyone who might seek to take advantage of the situation. Russia has issued a range of diplomatic statements with a far less full-throated support for Israel. A Kremlin statement said Mr Putin and Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan deplored the “catastrophic rise in the deaths among civilians”. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov called for a rapid ceasefire in a conversation with his Iranian colleague Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. Since the latest crisis erupted, the Kremlin has sought to appear even-handed, underscoring its relations with both sides. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Israel-Hamas war – live: Troops mass at Gaza border as strip ‘only has 10 hours of fuel’ left Watch live view of Gaza skyline as Israel bombards territory Inside Israel’s Supernova Festival: My terror as Hamas bombs fell on us during desert rave The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Chris Christie launched yet another attack on former President Donald Trump and his team following the filing of further charges against him in relation to his handling of classified documents. The former New Jersey governor and ex-Trump ally called the Trump team “the Corleones with no experience” in reference to the crime family in the Godfather movies. “This is bad stuff. And you can’t say there was no underlying potential crime here,” Mr Christie said on CNN on Sunday. “This was the withholding of confidential classified information from the government. After 18 months of asking Donald Trump to return it voluntarily, not only did he not return it. He lied about having it,” he added. In the updated indictment, prosecutors state that two of Mr Trump’s employees, Walt Nauta, an aide, and maintenance worker Carlos De Oliveira, tried to delete surveillance footage at Mar-A-Lago, Mr Trump’s private club and residence in Florida, after the Department of Justice had issued a subpoena seeking the footage. The indictment states that Mr De Oliveira told the IT director “that ‘the boss’ wanted the server deleted”. Another count of willful retention of national defence information and two counts of obstruction were added to the 37 counts Mr Trump already faced in the case. On Sunday, Mr Trump rejected the notion that he had told his staff to delete the footage, writing in a post on Truth Social that his team had “voluntarily” provided the authorities with the footage. “This is not what a former president should be doing, and it’s certainly not something that someone who wants to be president should be doing,” Mr Christie said on CNN. “The government has made a very, very compelling case,” he added. The former Garden State governor is one of the staunchest critics of the former president to enter the race against him while most other candidates are still very reluctant to criticize Mr Trump. Fellow GOP 2024 candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, a tech entrepreneur, told CNN on Sunday that the additional charges against Mr Trump made no difference to his promise of pardoning Mr Trump if elected. “I intend to be our next president. And, yes, I do believe I will move us forward. And, yes, I think one of the right ways to do that is to pardon the former president of the United States from what is clearly a politicized prosecution,” he said. Mr Ramaswamy added that Mr Trump shouldn’t be convicted of a crime “that would not have existed but for the existence of an investigation”. The former UN ambassador and governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, another 2024 candidate, told CBS News on Sunday that if the allegations Mr Trump faces are accurate, “It’s incredibly dangerous to our national security”. But she said the charges are “coming down from a Department of Justice that, frankly, the American people don’t trust”. When asked if she would pardon Mr Trump, she said she would do “what’s in the best interest of the country”. Read More Trump indictment – live: Trump echoes Ukraine impeachment as his PAC spends $40m on legal fees Nikki Haley urges McConnell and Feinstein to ‘walk away’ after recent health concerns Only four out of dozens of former Trump cabinet members say he should be re-elected GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie calls Trump a ‘one man crime wave’ Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his presidency? Unanswered questions about Trump’s looming January 6 indictment

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