Vladimir Putin has called for a ceasefire – but not for the war he’s embroiled in. 

The Kremlin has urged that guns stop firing immediately in Israel and Gaza, according to Russian news agency TASS. 

It also called for the start of a political settlement process. 

Mr Putin is set to discuss the situation with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestianian president. 

Ties between Israel and Russia have deteriorated since Hamas’s attack on Israel. 

Despite Mr Putin and Mr Netanyahu maintaining a previously friendly relationship, the Russian leader has not called his Israeli counterpart or published a message of condolence days after the attack. 

Mr Putin’s first comments on the matter were to claim US policy had failed in the Middle East and had taken no account of the needs of the Palestinians.

The Russian leader has tried for years to keep strong ties with Israel while also backing the Palestinian cause, an alliance which stems from the Soviet area.

But there have been signs of the relationship with Israel worsening after Mr Putin’s claims he was fighting “neo-Nazism” in Ukraine, as well as his moves closer to Israel’s opponent Iran.