Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged both Tehran and Jerusalem to resolve their “problems” through dialogue. In a joint press conference with his German counterpart Heiko Maas, the Russian top diplomat said that Russia has urged the leaderships of both countries to “avoid any actions which would be mutually provoking.”
“As for escalation between Israel and Iran, we think it is a rather disturbing trend. We believe that all the problems should solved through a dialogue. And many times in contacts with the leadership of Iran and Israel, including yesterday at the meeting between President Putin and Prime Minister Netanyahu, we emphasized the need to avoid any actions which would be mutually – so to say – provoking,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
The comments by the Russian top diplomat came a day after Prime Minister Netanyahu held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, after which the Israeli leader said that he believed Russia would not curtail IDF activity in Syria. Netanyahu said that the assessment that Russia, in trying to stabilize the situation in Syria, would block Israeli air strikes beyond the border, had been disproven and there was no reason to believe that anything would change.
Meanwhile, Minister Lavrov further revealed at a Moscow press conference with his German counterpart, that the five members of the nuclear deal with Iran, excluding the United States, were working to find ways to preserve it. Lavrov said it was important to keep the international agreement in place despite the U.S. withdrawal, while urging Germany, France and Britain not to be influenced by the American decision.
“We believe it is important that all other participants of this plan of action (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) could quickly consider the current situation, conduct the necessary consultations and work out steps which would allow to keep this document which is the most important for the regional stability and preservation of non-proliferation regime,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
The meeting between the two top diplomats came after Paris, London and Berlin vowed to try and preserve the nuclear deal, yet voiced concerns with regard to American crippling sanctions on nuclear related activities.
The European determination to remain committed to the deal, however, does not impress the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, who asserted his distrust of France, Britain and Germany, who he termed as “vessels of the United States.”
“I said many times from the first day: don’t trust America. I said this both in private meetings and public meetings.” / “Now it is being said that we can continue the nuclear deal with these three European countries (Britain, France and Germany). I don’t trust these three countries,” Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.