Putin stresses Israel's right to defend itself but calls for free Palestine

Acknowledging Israel's right to self-defence in the face of Hamas' attacks of "unprecedented brutality," Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasised the "creation of an independent Palestine state with East Jerusalem as its capital" to resolve the issue, TASS reported.

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

"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 said at the summit, stressing 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 concluded, according to TASS.

Putin's visit to Kyrgyzstan marked his first foreign trip following the issuance of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes. The two-day trip included his participation in a CIS summit, a regional organisation comprised of former Soviet republics. Putin's international presence came amid discussions about Russia's diminishing influence in the region, Al Jazeera reported.

Despite rarely leaving Russia since the deployment of troops in Ukraine in early 2022, Putin is expected to travel to China for the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing next week.

It's worth noting that Kyrgyzstan and China are not ICC members and are not subject to its jurisdiction.

During a meeting with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Putin reaffirmed Russia's status as a key trade partner and the largest investor in Kyrgyzstan, emphasizing their commitment to furthering cooperation. Putin praised the significant growth in Russian-Kyrgyz trade, although some Western analysts suspect this growth may be connected to Russian businesses bypassing sanctions.

"I would like to thank the president for the invitation. We have good reasons [to be here], but even without reason, this visit is long overdue," Putin said.

Last week, the central bank of Kyrgyzstan urged local banks to enhance controls to comply with Western sanctions against Moscow. In July, the United States imposed sanctions on four Kyrgyz companies for re-exporting electronic components and technology to Russia, as reported by Al Jazeera.

Putin is expected to partake in ceremonies marking the 20th anniversary of the opening of Russia's airbase near Kant, Kyrgyzstan, which enables Moscow to project influence in the region.

In March, the ICC issued a warrant for Putin and Russia's rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, over allegations of deporting Ukrainian children to Russia. Russia, not recognizing the ICC's authority, rejected the warrant as "illegal."

To ensure diplomatic representation in previous instances, Russia had sent Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in place of Putin to the BRICS summit in August, Al Jazeera reported.