Putin, Xi may discuss Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Beijing

Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's President Xi Jinping may discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during their meeting in Beijing this week, Russia's RIA news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Tuesday.

Putin told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that Moscow wanted to help prevent a humanitarian disaster in Gaza as he waded into the Middle East crisis with a flurry of calls to key regional players.

Peskov on Tuesday reiterated Putin's view that the explosion of violence between Israel and the Palestinians is a failure of US policy in the Middle East, describing the tragedy unfolding as the result of countries' dismissive attitude to the problem.

"There is still a threat of the expansion of the conflict," RIA quoted Peskov as saying. "This may be fraught with absolutely unspeakable consequences for the whole region.

"The main thing is to stop the 'hot' war and then ... conceptually approach the settlement process with new efforts," Peskov said. "An independent Palestinian state is needed, Israel needs security guarantees, Israelis should live in peace and feel safe."

Putin does not have a peace plan yet for the conflict, agencies quoted Peskov as saying. It needs to be worked out, he said.

A Russian-drafted UN Security Council resolution that called for a humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza failed to pass on Monday.

Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday to meet with Xi on a widely watched trip aimed at showcasing the trust and "no-limits" partnership between the countries even as the war in Ukraine has raged on.