Putin phoned Netanyahu amid West Asia turmoil as Russia and China resist Trump’s UN-backed peace plan and its pro-Israel stabilisation mechanisms.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced Saturday that President Vladimir Putin placed a direct call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, holding an in-depth discussion on the rapidly shifting situation across West Asia.
According to the ministry’s statement, the two leaders conducted an “exchange of views” on Middle East developments following the recently brokered ceasefire agreement and the exchange of detained persons. A longer TASS-released communication revealed a far broader agenda: the Gaza ceasefire’s implementation, progress on the detainee swap, Iran’s expanding nuclear ambitions, and the continuing effort to stabilise Syria — all issues central to Israel’s security landscape.
The timing of Putin’s call is highly significant. It came 48 hours after the United States formally urged the UN Security Council to adopt its sweeping draft resolution built around President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza Peace Plan — a plan Israel has publicly approved and repeatedly praised for its clarity and strategic alignment with Israeli interests.
Trump’s proposal includes:
- an immediate ceasefire,
- a phased withdrawal of IDF forces,
- hostage releases,
- a technocratic transitional administration,
- full demilitarisation of Gaza, and
- a long-term international reconstruction drive,
all overseen by a new stabilising entity known as the “Board of Peace.”
Backed at an October 13 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, the plan has received strong international support — except from Hamas, which refuses to fully accept its terms, and from anti-Western, anti-Israel blocs at the UN.
PUTIN INITIATED THE CALL, REPORT SAYS
The Times of Israel reported that Putin initiated the phone call, marking the latest in a series of quiet but high-level conversations between Moscow and Jerusalem in recent weeks. Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office confirmed the call but did not expand on details, citing only “regional issues.”
CHINA & RUSSIA MOVE AGAINST KEY PRO-ISRAEL ELEMENT OF PLAN
According to UN diplomats quoted by the Associated Press, China and Russia are now demanding that the UNSC resolution strip out the proposed “Board of Peace” — the international governance body central to Trump’s stabilisation model.
Arab nations have also raised objections, worrying that the plan sidelines the Palestinian Authority in any interim administration.
Two veto-wielding UNSC powers have already signaled resistance, increasing the likelihood of a serious diplomatic clash as Washington tries to push forward a plan Israel supports and Hamas rejects.
For Israel, the stakes could not be higher: Trump’s 20-point framework offers the most structured pathway yet toward demilitarising Gaza, restoring hostages, and ensuring long-term regional stabilisation. Any attempt by Moscow or Beijing to dismantle its core mechanisms threatens to undercut a rare moment of global alignment behind Israel’s security needs.
