Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Discusses Middle East Crisis with Qatari Foreign Minister

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on its website today, Monday, that "Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov held talks with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and the two diplomats discussed the crisis in the Middle East." The Russian and Qatari foreign ministries stated: "There is a need to de-escalate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to open humanitarian corridors to Gaza to assist the affected civilians." In another context, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told President Vladimir Putin today that "the situation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to escalate and there is a risk of the conflict spiraling out of control." Ryabkov described Israel's actions in television statements as "arbitrary."