Following Ukraine’s July 25 attack on an Iranian cargo ship in the Caspian Sea, which saw a flurry of threats and promises of retaliation from Iranian officials, the foreign ministers of the two countries have—at least for the moment—pushed pause. Andriy Sybiha, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, said in a post on X that Ukraine wants to “avoid unnecessary escalation,” and that his country’s actions “are aimed solely at defending our country from Russian aggression and never intended to target civilian vessels or people.” Sybiha carefully sidestepped any mention of the event or Ukraine’s intentions behind the strike, and blamed “Russian aggression” as “the root cause of all incidents,” adding that “it is Russia who bears full responsibility for all provocations and casualties.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was diplomatic in his response to the call: “Was assured by Ukrainian FM Andriy Sybiha that the attack on an Iranian ship was unintentional and Ukraine seeks no escalation. Iran does not seek escalation either, but made clear any attack on our citizens or interests is unacceptable. There must be restitution for losses.”
