MOSCOW, November 13. /TASS/. US President-elect Donald Trump is unlikely to determine at this stage whether it will be possible to end hostilities in the Middle East, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who also serves as the president’s special envoy for the Middle East and Africa, said in an interview with TASS following the first Russia-Africa ministerial conference.
Asked if there was a chance to resolve the conflict in the region under Trump, he said: "I don’t know. No one knows. Perhaps, even Trump himself doesn’t know. We need to wait and see."
Trump claimed during his election campaign that, if elected US president, he would be able to end chaos in the Middle East. He also emphasized that, had he been US president, violence in the region would not have reached such extreme levels.
Tensions intensified again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing residents of border settlements and taking hostages. In response, Israel initiated a military operation in the Palestinian enclave to dismantle Hamas' military and political structures and free all hostages.