Putin's promise to Iran's supreme leader after the “message received” from Mojtaba Khamenei
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in St. Petersburg on Monday and told him that Russia will work to restore peace in the Middle East, according to Reuters and AFP.
Upon arrival in Russia, the head of Iranian diplomacy blamed Washington for the failure of talks to end the war.
“We will do everything that serves your interests, the interests of all peoples in the region, so that peace can be achieved as soon as possible,” Vladimir Putin told Abbas Araghchi, according to Russian state media.
Putin, message for Khamenei
The Russian president claims to have received a message from Mojtaba Khamenei last week and in turn sent a message to him on Monday via Abbas Araghchi.
“Last week we received a message from the Supreme Leader of Iran. I would like to ask you to convey our most sincere thanks for this and confirm that Russia, like Iran, intends to continue our strategic relationship,” Putin said.
Mojtaba Khamenei, who became Iran's supreme leader after the death of his father, killed in an airstrike at the start of the war with the US and Israel, has not been seen in public since, but Iranian media have consistently carried messages attributed to him.
Last year, Russia and Iran signed a 20-year strategic partnership agreement. Russia is building two new facilities at Busheshr, Iran's only nuclear power plant, while Tehran has supplied Moscow with Shahed drones for the war in Ukraine.
Russia has offered to mediate to try to help restore peace in the Middle East, where the United States and Israel launched an offensive against Iran on February 28, attacks condemned by Moscow. In addition, Russia has repeatedly offered to store Iran's enriched uranium as a way to defuse tensions, a proposal the United States has not accepted.
