In a statement to the press on October 17, Sergei Ryabkov, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, warned Israel about any strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. “We have warned many times and continue to warn, to caution against even hypothetically considering the possibility of a strike on nuclear facilities and nuclear infrastructure.” He called such a move “a catastrophic development and a complete negation of the basic tenets of nuclear security.”
Ryabkov said that Russia remained in continual contact with Tehran. “ We maintain constant contacts with the Iranian side,” he said. “They do not depend on fluctuations in the political barometer and the level of tension in the region, which is currently extremely high and causes great concern. …[A] corresponding exchange of assessments and approaches is being carried out along various lines,” he continued. “I would like to note that the goal of our efforts, as in any situation where there is a risk of escalation, is to find solutions that would reduce this risk and ultimately turn the relevant processes towards a political settlement.”
