Vladimir Putin: ‘We Are Trying to Help the Iranian People’

Russia stands by Tehran following a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. “Our position on current events has been conveyed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” stated Russian President Vladimir Putin to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. “We are trying to help the Iranian people. The meeting will give us the opportunity to find ways out of the current situation. Please convey my best wishes to the president and the supreme leader of Iran,” said Putin. From his side, Araghchi noted, “The aggression against Iran is baseless. The actions of the U.S. and Israel are illegal. We thank our Russian friends for condemning these actions. Russia is on the right side of history. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani send their greetings.” The Kremlin, through spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, condemned the American attacks earlier Monday. “Russia deeply regrets and condemns the U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. The actions of the U.S. have increased the number of parties involved in the conflict and led to a new escalation,” he remarked, adding that it is unclear what happened at the Iranian nuclear sites and whether there is any risk of radiation. The U.S. “betrayed” diplomacy, Iran expects Russia to play an active role. Iran accused the U.S. today of “betraying” diplomacy after Israeli and American attacks on its soil. “We will not forget that Iran was in the middle of diplomatic processes with a country that is now at war with us,” stated Iranian diplomat Esmail Baghai. “Two days before the negotiations (with the United States on June 15) began, we were attacked. This is a betrayal of diplomacy.” Baghai also mentioned that Iran expects Russia to play an active role during this period of conflict between Tehran and Washington. “Iran, within the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement with Russia, has specific expectations from this country, both on a multilateral level—especially in the UN Security Council—and on a regional level. Therefore, the visit (of Araghchi) and contacts with Russian officials are considered very significant,” concluded Baghai.