Russian top diplomat warns against force in Iran, highlights regional instability

A military solution to the Iranian issue will bring security to no country, so a peaceful resolution must be sought, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the 15th Middle East Conference of the international Valdai Discussion Club.

“Of course, we proceed from the position that there must be a peaceful settlement here. We understand that, as in the case of Palestine, some of the immediate participants in the process are tempted to use force and ‘finish off’ their opponents, so to speak. But this is the wrong approach. It will only create more problems and in no way solve them or ensure the security of any state,” Lavrov emphasized, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

He added that Russia maintains constant contact with its Iranian partners, including in coordination with Chinese colleagues, and expresses concern about Iran’s future.

“Speaking of Iran, of course, we are interested in a full normalization of relations between Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council,” Lavrov said.

Commenting on the broader Middle East situation, the minister noted that the main trend in the region remains the effort to drive the Palestinian issue into a deadlock.

“All of this has happened and continues to happen. Currently, we see Yemen, Sudan, and reverberations in the Middle East, including around Somalia, all against the backdrop of the main trend. And the trend, it seems to me, is to deliberately drive the Palestinian issue into a dead-end, hopeless situation,” the minister said.

By Vafa Guliyeva