VLADIVOSTOK. Sept 5 (Interfax) - Russia is continuing efforts towards the liberation of Israeli hostages in Gaza and will do everything it can to facilitate Palestinian-Israeli settlement, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"We will do everything we can, and I said so at a recent meeting with Mr. Abbas in Moscow, to make our contribution to resolving this protracted and very severe crisis," Putin said at a plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum.
"As to the humanitarian issues, of course, we will try to solve the hostage problem, and we are happy to say that we have made some headway. We will try to keep doing it," he said.
"The Russian stance is not situational. It has always relied on earlier decisions which, in my opinion, should be the settlement's foundation. First of all, this implies establishing two independent states," Putin said.
"Lots of people in the world share this stance. Oddly enough, many in the United States share this stance, as well," he said.
"But unfortunately, the problem has not been solved, although it is the root cause of the current escalation of tensions and confrontation," Putin said.
"In particular, the current problems are related to the U.S. attempts to monopolize the settlement process. The U.S. does not see itself as a country with a neutral stance. That's the problem," he said.