Moscow advocates diplomacy over force in Iran dispute

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has expressed hope for renewed diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving tensions surrounding Iran, saying Moscow expects “positive developments” in ongoing discussions on the issue.

Lavrov made the remarks at a press conference following talks with Libyan Acting Foreign Minister Al Taher Salem Al Baour, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

“Particular attention at this stage is being paid to the crisis in the Persian Gulf, a crisis that arose as a result of the unprovoked aggression of the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Both Russia and Libya advocate the earliest cessation of any recurrence of the use of force and the establishment of a sustainable political and diplomatic process. We hope that the information arriving literally at this moment will be positive in terms of the resumption of diplomatic efforts, because only in this way can existing disagreements be resolved while ensuring the interests of all, I emphasize, without exception, states of the region, including our friendly Arab countries of the Gulf,” Lavrov said.

He reaffirmed Russia’s readiness to support efforts to normalize relations between Iran and Gulf states, stressing the urgency of renewed regional diplomacy.

“We believe that the recent events of the attack on the Islamic Republic and the way Arab coastal states have suffered from these events all dictate the relevance and even urgency of additional efforts toward normalizing relations between the Gulf coastal states,” he added.

Lavrov also said Russia evaluates US–Iran negotiations based on concrete results, arguing that current developments are marked more by rhetoric than substance.

“Experience teaches us to rely on facts. And we do not yet see facts. We see threats, we see promises, assurances that if you do this, you will prosper. And we see Iran’s position, which quite rightly says that they have already fallen into the trap of false promises, including the same comprehensive plan of action on Iran’s nuclear program, which was approved by the UN Security Council in 2015, which contained all the answers to the questions that the United States is now asking, and from which the United States itself withdrew,” he said.

He suggested that meaningful progress would require movement toward the framework of the 2015 nuclear agreement, which established strict monitoring of Iran’s nuclear program and excluded the development of nuclear weapons.

“If, as a result of the current efforts of the negotiators, which we support, Iranian and American negotiators, it is possible to steer toward something close to that 2015 agreement, I think it would already be a major success,” Lavrov said.

The Russian foreign minister added that Moscow will closely analyze any potential negotiations in Islamabad, where talks may reportedly resume.

“Our attitude toward the negotiations that may now resume in Islamabad is analytical. We will analyze what is happening, although everything is happening instantly; in a day the situation can change ten times in diametrically opposite directions,” he said.

By Vafa Guliyeva