Russia's president makes comments as Israel considers response to Iranian missile and drone attacks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for restraint as Israel considers its response to Russia's unprecedented drone and missile attacks over the weekend.
President Putin made the remarks during a telephone conversation with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday. The leaders discussed what the Kremlin called “retaliatory measures taken by Iran” following Israel's attack on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus on April 1.
According to the Kremlin, President Putin urged countries to refrain from actions that could provoke new conflicts with devastating consequences for the Middle East.
Iran fired hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel late Saturday in response to an Israeli attack in Damascus that killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers, including two generals.
In his first public comments on the Iranian attack, President Putin said that the root cause of current instability in the Middle East is the continuing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“President Vladimir Putin expressed the hope that all parties will show reasonable restraint and prevent new conflicts that would have devastating consequences for the entire region,” the Kremlin said.
“Ebrahim Raisi pointed out that Iran's actions are coercive and limited in nature,” the Kremlin said. “At the same time, the Iranian government has emphasized its indifference to further escalation of tensions.”
Raisi thanks President Putin
According to the Iranian President's Office, Raisi appreciated Russia's position on Iran's response to Israel, adding that the inaction of the international community and the destructive role of some Western countries forced Iran to carry out the recent operations. He said he was no longer able to do so.
According to the presidential palace, Raisi reiterated that actions contrary to Iran's interests will require a major response.
Russia, which has forged close ties with Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei and several Arab leaders, has repeatedly reprimanded Western countries for ignoring the need to establish an independent Palestinian state within its 1967 borders. I've done it.
“Both sides stated that the root cause of the current situation in the Middle East is the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” the Kremlin said of the phone conversation with Raisi.
“In this regard, the principled approach of Russia and Iran was confirmed in support of an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, easing the difficult humanitarian situation and creating conditions for a political and diplomatic solution to the crisis. ”
President Putin, who visited Khamenei in 2022, congratulated Raisi and all Muslims on the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Iran has provided Russia with large numbers of surface-to-surface ballistic missiles and drones, which Russia has used to attack Ukraine.
