After long hours of silence, the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, described the “absolutely unjustified aggression” of the attack launched by the United States early on Sunday against the nuclear facilities of Isfahan, Natanz, and Fordo in Iran.
“This absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran has no basis or justification,” Putin expressed this Monday during a meeting with the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abbas Araghchi, on the occasion of his visit to Moscow.
Russia and Iran signed an agreement in April for cooperation as “strategic partners” in all areas, including defense, counterterrorism, energy, transportation, industry, and agriculture, among others.
Putin emphasized that this visit is taking place “at a difficult time,” with an increase in tensions in the region and promised that Russia will do everything possible to help the Iranian people. "We will maintain lasting, good, and trustworthy relations with Iran," the Russian leader stressed in the presence of the Iranian minister.
On his part, Araghchi thanked Putin for the support received and trusts that Monday’s meeting will serve to address “the whole range of issues related” to this new crisis in the region.
The Kremlin rules out that this will affect relations with the United States
Russia defended the “right” of any country to develop its own nuclear industry for “peaceful” purposes and warned that these attacks “cannot help but raise legitimate concerns” about a potential radioactive impact, Russian news agencies report.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out that Russia was not informed of the intentions of the United States, even though in several conversations between Putin and Donald Trump, the issue of the Iranian nuclear program was addressed on more than one occasion.
Anyway, Peskov ruled out that what happened this weekend could affect the talks that Russia and the United States resumed since Trump’s return to the White House. “They are different areas,” he explained in an interview for the state television network.
“We maintain strategic partnership relations with Iran, but we are also working to restore our relations with the United States. Both are very important areas,” commented the spokesperson, who reiterated that “it is unlikely” that this could interfere in the relations between Washington and Moscow.