Russian FM: India could help mediate between Iran, Gulf states

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that India could play a mediating role in easing tensions between Iran and the Arab monarchies of the Persian Gulf.

According to Russian media, he made the remarks at a press conference following his participation in the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi.

“Here is India — it currently holds the BRICS presidency. It directly depends on oil supplies, including from this region. Why not offer its good offices as the BRICS chair and invite Iran and the Emirates, to begin with, to talk and prevent hostility,” Lavrov said.

He argued that the current hostility was being fuelled from outside.

“I have no doubt whatsoever that one of the aims of the aggression against Iran was precisely to prevent the normalisation of relations and even to create new problems in those relations, to antagonise Iran and its Arab neighbours,” he added.

According to Lavrov, Pakistan is currently helping facilitate dialogue between the United States and Iran in an effort to resolve the ongoing crisis. In the longer term, he said, India could assume the role of mediator between Iran and Arab states thanks to its “diplomatic experience and authority.”

Lavrov stressed that the main priority remains ending the war and achieving a stable settlement around Iran.

At the same time, he noted that BRICS does not necessarily need to position itself as a mediator, although the bloc includes countries interested in stability in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf.

By Aghakazim Guliyev