Russian President Vladimir Putin told Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday that he was ready to help mediate efforts to bring peace in the Middle East, the Kremlin said.“Vladimir Putin emphasized his readiness to further facilitate the search for a political and diplomatic settlement to the conflict, and to mediate efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle East,” the Kremlin said in its readout of the call.The offer came hours after the United States and Iran ended face-to-face talks without an agreement, raising doubts over a fragile two-week ceasefire.US officials said the talks collapsed because Iran refused to commit to abandoning a path to a nuclear weapon. Iranian officials, however, blamed the US for the breakdown, without giving specific details.Russia’s offer comes as it remains engaged in its own war with Ukraine, with no clear progress in peace efforts.Russia has also accused the United States of using an imaginary threat from Iran as a pretext to overthrow its constitutional order, and said Washington’s calls for Iranians to seize power from their leaders were cynical and inhumane.In June 2025 too, as the “Twelve‑Day War” raged, Putin publicly offered Russia’s mediation between Israel and Iran, arguing that disputes over Iran’s nuclear program should be settled politically and diplomatically, not through war.
