Russia is ready to lend a helping hand in the negotiations between Iran and the United States, if necessary, but does not intend to impose its services, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with TASS.
„Russia is ready to provide all possible assistance in resolving this conflict, as the parties well know. At the same time, we have never imposed and do not intend to impose our services, but if requested, we will lend a helping hand“, he said.
Ryabkov stressed that Moscow has always been and remains “committed to seeking solutions exclusively in the political and diplomatic sphere“, welcomed the attempts of Washington and Tehran to resume the negotiation process and noted “the active role of the Pakistani side in stabilizing the situation and creating conditions for moving towards lasting peace“.
“No one disputes the fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran should not possess nuclear weapons. Both the previous and current leaders of the Islamic Republic have always agreed with this“, the diplomat said.
He pointed out that “to resolve such issues, the international community has the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which outlines all relevant obligations, from which the Iranian side has never renounced“.
“At the same time, the treaty also provides for Iran's right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes under the supervision of the IAEA without any restrictions, including uranium enrichment“, Ryabkov stressed.
“This right is inviolable and cannot be subject to any opportunistic interpretation from the outside. Only the Iranian people themselves determine how to use it wisely, based on their national interests,“ the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister noted.
Addressing the root causes of the conflict around Iran is the only way to stop the escalation of tensions with the Islamic Republic, according to Russia's permanent representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia.
“We want to emphasize that the only way to stop the escalation and eliminate all its negative consequences, including from the point of view of nuclear security, is to address the root causes of the conflict,“ he said at a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East.
Russia is ready to facilitate a political and diplomatic resolution of the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran.
“We call on the parties to abandon the language of threats and raising the stakes and immediately return to "the path of political and diplomatic resolution in order to achieve a sustainable and long-term solution," Nebenzia said. The Russian Federation is ready to provide the necessary assistance in this endeavor.