Vladimir Putin, a strong message aimed at Iran

Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘condemned’ on Friday the Israeli attacks that targeted Iran, a close ally of Moscow, calling them a ‘dangerous climbing’ that could have ‘disastrous consequences’ for the Middle East, AFP notes.

Putin spoke on the phone, separately, with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, and with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a statement given to the Kremlin after these two calls.

« Vladimir Putin stressed that Russia condemns the actions of Israel, which is a violation of the UN Charter and international law, » the Russian presidency said.

During the discussion with Netanyahu, Putin was said to play a mediator to avoid a new escalation of tensions’, warning about ‘risk (…) disastrous consequences for the whole region’.

The Russian president also emphasized the ‘importance’ to reach ‘a solution’ of the problem of the Iranian nuclear program ‘by exclusively political and diplomatic means’, in full American-Iranian discussions on this topic.

The Kremlin leader expressed Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian ‘condolences (…) following numerous victims, including civilians, caused by Israeli attacks’.

Previously, the Russian Foreign Ministry denounced the absolutely unacceptable Israeli attacks on some nuclear and military sites in Iran.

Russian diplomacy also accused Israel of showing ‘cynicism’ carrying these attacks ‘on the eve of a new round of indirect contacts between representatives of Iran and the United States,’ thus undermining these diplomatic efforts.

Also, the Russian Foreign Ministry has accused the West of ‘provoked anti-Iranian hysteria’ in international institutions, ensuring that ‘solving the problem of the Iranian nuclear program cannot be done by military force and can only be achieved by peaceful, political and diplomatic means’.

For his part, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, expressed his ‘concern’ and condemned ‘the strong escalation of tensions’.

Russia traditionally maintains good relationships with Israel, where an important Russian -language community lives. However, these links were affected by the Russian offensive in Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow harshly criticized the war of Israel in the Gaza strip.

At the same time, Moscow has approached Tehran in recent years, Iran being accused in particular of having participated in the Russian military effort in Ukraine by providing explosive drones and missiles.