Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Iranian leaders on Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, and stated that Moscow remains a loyal friend and reliable partner to Tehran, the Kremlin said on Saturday. However, the extent of Moscow’s actual support for Iran is disputed, with some Iranian sources saying they have received very little concrete assistance during the country’s biggest crisis since the 1979 revolution, Reuters reports.
Putin’s message to Tehran
Putin sent congratulations to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian, the Kremlin announced.
“Vladimir Putin wished the Iranian people to overcome difficult trials with dignity and emphasized that Moscow, in this difficult time, remains a loyal friend and reliable partner to Tehran,” the Kremlin statement said.
Moscow’s stance and alleged offer to Washington
Russia believes that U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran have pushed the entire Middle East to the brink and triggered a major global energy crisis. Putin condemned the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader as “cynical.” The outlet Politico previously reported that Moscow proposed a kind of deal to Washington: the Kremlin would stop sharing intelligence with Iran if the United States stopped supplying Ukraine with information about Russia. The United States reportedly rejected the idea, and the Kremlin dismissed the report as false.
Limits of the strategic partnership
Russia has been left with fewer allies after the United States overthrew Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, although Moscow has benefited from high oil prices driven by U.S. and Israeli attacks on its strategic partner, Iran.
The declared strategic partnership between the two countries does not include a mutual defense clause. Russia has also repeatedly stated that it does not want Iran to develop a nuclear bomb, fearing such a move could trigger a nuclear arms race across the Middle East.
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Source: Mondo,Foto: Reuters



