Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the aggravation of the situation in East Jerusalem by phone, the leaders expressed their serious concern about the clashes and the growing number of killed, the Kremlin press service reported.
“A substantive exchange of views was held in connection with the aggravation of the situation in East Jerusalem. Serious concern was expressed about the ongoing clashes, the increase in the number of killed and wounded. Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the parties to de-escalate tensions and peacefully resolve emerging issues”, – the statement said.
“The principled position of Russia and Turkey in support of a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of universally recognized international legal norms, as well as the special role of the Quartet of international mediators (Russia, EU, UN, USA) in facilitating the negotiation process”, – was noted in the message.
On Monday evening, the situation on the border between Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip escalated sharply. Palestinian groups fired more than 600 missiles at Israel from Gaza, the Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted 200 of them. Israel hit the Gaza Strip. As reported on Wednesday in the Israeli army, as a result of rocket attacks, five Israelis were killed and more than 200 were injured. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said on Wednesday 43 casualties from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and nearly 300 injured.