Iranian President Raisi accuses West of backing Israel's 'genocide' during talks with Putin

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, during his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, accused the West of backing Israel's "genocide" against the Palestinians in Gaza.

Putin met Raisi in the Kremlin a day after visiting the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, where he had a discussion with leaders over the upsurge in violence in Gaza as well as in Ukraine along with the efforts carried out by Russian and OPEC to boost the prices of oil.

In their televised remarks, both leaders did not mention the growing military cooperation between the two countries, which has been a matter of concern for the United States, which claims that Iran is providing Russia with weapons to use in its war against Ukraine.

Putin stated that discussing the current situation in the Middle East, especially in the Palestinian territories, is the need of the hour.

Raisi responded via a translator: "What is happening in Palestine and Gaza is of course genocide and a crime against humanity." He said it was "even more sad" that this was supported by the United States and the West.

Iran has strongly voiced support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is the ruling authority in Gaza, in its war against Israel. Russia has relations with all the key players in the region including Hamas and Israel, which it angered by hosting a Hamas delegation in Moscow in October.

Putin said that the sight of suffering and bloodied children in Gaza makes "tears come to your eyes", however, Western governments dubbed his remarks as hypocritical when Putin's forces have claimed the lives of thousands of civilians in Ukraine.

Earlier, the Kremlin said that Russia and Iran were developing relations, "including in the field of military-technical cooperation", but declined to comment on a suggestion by the White House that Iran may be considering providing Russia with ballistic missiles.

White House spokesman John Kirby on Wednesday dubbed the rapidly growing defence relationship as "worrisome".

(With inputs from agencies)