Putin says he can be a peacemaker in Israel — but he has far more to gain from prolonging the war

• The Kremlin says Putin wants to act as mediator in the Israel-Hames war.
• The Russian president is friendly with leaders on both sides of the conflict.
• But Putin has little to gain from bringing an end to the conflict. 

As violence erupted between Israel and Hamas this week, the Kremlin sought to cast Russian President Vladimir Putin in the role of peace broker. 

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Russia could act as a mediator in the wake of the militant group's attacks on Israeli towns, a music festival, and military bases, and Israel's bombardment of Gaza.