President Putin is pushing to host peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in the latest sign of his ambition for Russia to replace the United States as chief power broker in the Middle East. Mr Putin made his overture to President Sisi of Egypt, who said that it would involve a meeting at the Kremlin between Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/with-tom-kington-s-file-3ltbqfln0
