Russian, Iranian foreign ministers say only diplomatic solution to conflict around Iran
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart met on Thursday and Moscow said both agreed that only a diplomatic settlement could end tension in the Middle East sparked by the US-Israeli war against Iran.
“Current regional and international issues were discussed with emphasis on the situation around Iran,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement after Lavrov and Iran’s Abbas Araghchi met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
“It was stressed that there is no alternative to a diplomatic settlement of the crisis provoked by the illegal actions of the United States and Israel.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian signed a strategic cooperation partnership in 2025, which provides for a deepening of bilateral ties and closer defence cooperation, but includes no mutual defence clause.
Each side has provided the other with military know-how and equipment.
