Russia hopes Gaza ceasefire can lead to 'comprehensive' settlement

MOSCOW — Russia on Thursday said it hoped a ceasefire in Gaza would lead to "long-term stabilisation" and creates the conditions for a "comprehensive political settlement" between Israel and the Palestinians.

Key mediator Qatar said Wednesday that Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas had agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza starting on Sunday, along with a hostage and prisoner exchange after more than 15 months of war.

The Kremlin on Thursday said it "welcomed" the deal, though expressed a degree of caution after Israeli accusations that Hamas was backtracking on the fragile agreement.

"Any settlement that leads to a ceasefire, an end to the suffering of the people of Gaza and increases Israel's security can only be welcomed," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"But let's wait for the finalisation of the process," he added.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters earlier on Thursday the deal was an "important practical step towards the long-term stabilisation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation".

She also said she hoped that it could be the basis for "the establishment of a process of comprehensive political settlement of the Palestinian problem".