Late in the day, Moscow time, the Kremlin provided the following combined readout on President Vladimir Putin’s separate telephone conversations today with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran, while offering both his help to both to resolve “the present situation, which is fraught with the most disastrous consequences for the entire region.” The full statement reads as follows:
“In light of the dangerous escalation resulting from Israel’s act of force against Iran, Vladimir Putin had telephone conversations with President of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian and Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The President of Russia expressed his condolences to the authorities and citizens of Iran over the heavy death toll resulting from Israeli strikes, including among civilians.
“Vladimir Putin stressed that Russia condemned Israel’s actions, which had been carried out in violation of the UN Charter and international law. The Russian side has been fully supporting the efforts to resolve the situation around Iran’s nuclear program peacefully and has proposed concrete initiatives aimed at reaching mutually acceptable agreements. Russia will continue to promote a de-escalation between Iran and Israel.
“In his conversation with the Prime Minister of Israel, the President of Russia emphasized the importance of resuming the negotiations and resolving any issues pertaining to Iran’s nuclear program exclusively via political and diplomatic means. In addition, the Russian leader expressed willingness to provide mediation so as to prevent further escalation.
“It was agreed that the Russian side will maintain close contact with the authorities of both Iran and Israel with a view to resolving the present situation, which is fraught with the most disastrous consequences for the entire region.”
