MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed the importance of diplomacy to end a dispute between Qatar and several other Arab states during a telephone call with Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Kremlin said on Saturday.
The Kremlin said in a statement the Russian and Qatari leaders also discussed cooperation between their countries in energy and investment.
Earlier on Saturday, the Kremlin said Putin had spoken with Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa by telephone about the Qatar dispute.
The Kremlin, which announced the phone calls in two separate statements on its website on Saturday, did not say when they happened.
It clarified that they happened on the initiative of Qatar and Bahrain.
“Vladimir Putin stressed the importance of political-diplomatic efforts aimed at overcoming differences of opinion and the normalization of the difficult situation that exists,” said the statement on the talks between Putin and Qatar’s emir.
The Russian and Qatari leaders also discussed cooperation between their countries in energy and investment.
In his call with the Bahraini king, Putin stressed the need for direct dialogue between all governments involved in the dispute, which is exerting a negative influence on the Middle East, the Kremlin said.
The Kremlin said last month that a “stable and peaceful” situation in the Gulf was in Russia’s interest.
Moscow is trying to tread cautiously in the dispute since it wants good relations with both Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Russia backs President Bashar Assad in the six-year-long Syria conflict and is close to Iran, which has fraught ties with Riyadh.
Moscow sold a stake in its state oil champion Rosneft to Qatar last year and has been coordinating oil output cuts with the Saudis as part of a global pact to lift oil prices.
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Diplomacy key to ending row, Putin tells Qatar emir
Diplomacy key to ending row, Putin tells Qatar emir
Activists plan new, bigger flotilla to try to bring aid to Gaza
- Activists previously detained by Israel plan new flotilla
- Israeli officials denounce such missions as stunts
JOHANNESBURG: Activists behind a flotilla intercepted at sea last year by Israel while trying to bring aid to Gaza will try again this year, expecting more than twice as many boats carrying up to 1,000 medics, they said on Thursday.
The Israeli military halted the roughly 40 boats in the Global Sumud Flotilla last October as they attempted to reach blockaded Gaza, arresting Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and more than 450 other participants.
Organizers, who gathered on Wednesday at the foundation of late South African leader Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, said they hope to bring 100 boats for their next attempt.
“It is a cause ... for those that want to rise and stand for justice and dignity for all,” Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela, who was among activists detained last time, told the gathering. “We want to mobilize the ... global community to join forces with us.”
Israeli officials repeatedly denounced last year’s mission, and previous smaller-scale attempts to reach Gaza by sea, as publicity stunts.
Israel, which controls all access to the Gaza Strip, denies withholding supplies for its more than 2 million residents. Palestinians and international aid bodies say supplies reaching the territory are still insufficient, despite a ceasefire reached in October which included guarantees of increased aid.
Following the ceasefire, Israeli forces now control more than 53 percent of the Gaza Strip where they have ordered residents out. Nearly the entire population is crowded into a narrow strip along the coast, mostly living in makeshift tents and damaged buildings.
If the flotilla is blocked again, the activists said it would still be worth it to highlight Gaza’s plight.
“We may not have reached Gaza physically (but) we have reached ... the people in Gaza,” said one of the activists, Susan Abdallah. “They know that we care, that we will not stop at anything until we actually break the siege.”
The Israeli military halted the roughly 40 boats in the Global Sumud Flotilla last October as they attempted to reach blockaded Gaza, arresting Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and more than 450 other participants.
Organizers, who gathered on Wednesday at the foundation of late South African leader Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, said they hope to bring 100 boats for their next attempt.
“It is a cause ... for those that want to rise and stand for justice and dignity for all,” Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela, who was among activists detained last time, told the gathering. “We want to mobilize the ... global community to join forces with us.”
Israeli officials repeatedly denounced last year’s mission, and previous smaller-scale attempts to reach Gaza by sea, as publicity stunts.
Israel, which controls all access to the Gaza Strip, denies withholding supplies for its more than 2 million residents. Palestinians and international aid bodies say supplies reaching the territory are still insufficient, despite a ceasefire reached in October which included guarantees of increased aid.
Following the ceasefire, Israeli forces now control more than 53 percent of the Gaza Strip where they have ordered residents out. Nearly the entire population is crowded into a narrow strip along the coast, mostly living in makeshift tents and damaged buildings.
If the flotilla is blocked again, the activists said it would still be worth it to highlight Gaza’s plight.
“We may not have reached Gaza physically (but) we have reached ... the people in Gaza,” said one of the activists, Susan Abdallah. “They know that we care, that we will not stop at anything until we actually break the siege.”
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