Talk about strange bedfellows! Below as reported in Israeli news.
The key players that can impact Iran's (Israel's real foe in Gaza) actions are the folks who impact its ability to sell oil. Russia and India buy that oil from Iran, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Putin is a shrewd operator.
Putin Appoints Senior Official to Help With Gaza Hostage Deal
Representatives of the Russian president told Israeli Druze leader during a meeting in Moscow that Putin had fulfilled Netanyahu's request and appointed the deputy foreign minister to take action on the matter
By Amos Harel, Haaretz
Dec 26, 2023 4:47 pm IST
Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request to help broker a new deal to free the Israeli hostages held in Gaza, appointing Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov for the task.
"I turned to the head of a major power, with whom I hadn't spoken for several long months, Russian President Vladimir Putin," Netanyahu told the Knesset on Monday.
"I spoke with him a few days ago, and I told him that I'm asking for his intervention regarding all the hostages, including Andrey Koslov, Alex Lobanov and Sasha Trupanov," he said, referring to three Israelis with Russian citizenship. "He said he would try to take action on the matter. I'm telling you this to demonstrate one thing: We, my colleagues and I, are not sparing any effort."
The meeting dealt with the situation in Syria and Lebanon, but Tarif raised the question of the Israeli hostages. His host answered him that Putin was already busy with Netanyahu's request and had appointed Bogdanov himself to carry out the mission.
Russia has taken an adversarial position toward Israel during the Gaza war. Moscow criticized the military's use of force in the Gaza Strip.
Three Russian Israelis were released as part of the deal to release hostages last month. Hamas released Roni Krivoi, Elena Trufanov and Irena Tatti in what it described as a gesture to Putin.
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