Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday praised the Iranian people for battling to stay independent in the face of US and Israeli pressure and said Moscow would do all it could to help Tehran. Russia has offered to mediate to try to help restore calm to West Asia following US and Israeli strikes, which Moscow has strongly condemned. It has also repeatedly offered to store Iran’s enriched uranium as a way of defusing tensions, a proposal spurred by the US.“We see how courageously and heroically the Iranian people are fighting for their independence and sovereignty,” Putin told Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, who was in Saint Petersburg on the fourth leg of a whirlwind diplomatic tour. Putin said he hoped Iranians could get through what he called a “difficult period” and that peace would prevail. “For our part, we will do everything that serves your interests and the interests of all the peoples of the region to ensure that peace is achieved as quickly as possible,” said Putin.Putin received Araghchi in the presidential library in Russia’s former imperial capital St Petersburg as sources from mediator Pakistan said work had not halted to bridge gaps between the US and Iran. Putin said he received a message from Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, last week, and asked Araghchi to convey to him that Russia intended to continue its strategic partnership with Tehran.Araghchi, who said he wanted to brief Putin on the situation around his country, thanked Putin for Moscow’s support. “It has also been proven to all that Iran has friends and allies, such as the Russian Federation, who stand by Iran precisely in difficult times,” he said. Iran’s top diplomat blamed Washington for the failure of peace talks. “The US approaches caused the previous round of negotiations, despite progress, to fail to reach its goals because of excessive demands,” Araghchi said.This is a Reuters story.
