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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United States on Wednesday of inflaming the Middle East by sending an aircraft carrier group to the region, saying "compromise solutions" were needed and that he hoped common sense would prevail.
The Kremlin chief has called the explosion of violence between Israel and the Palestinians a vivid example of the failure of U.S. policy in the Middle East, which he says has taken no account of the needs of the Palestinians.
Following the surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel on Saturday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. was moving a carrier strike group, which includes the USS Gerald R. Ford, closer to Israel.
Putin, speaking at an energy conference in Moscow, said the U.S. move, which was also fiercely criticised by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, was a mistake.
"I don't understand why the U.S. is dragging aircraft carrier groups into the Mediterranean Sea. I don't really understand the point. Are they going to bomb Lebanon or what?" he said.
"Or have they decided to try to scare someone? There are people there who are no longer afraid of anything. This is not the way to solve the problem. Compromise solutions need to be looked for. Of course, such actions are inflaming the situation."
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Gareth Jones)
