During a recent trip to Tehran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said differences over Iran’s nuclear program could still be resolved diplomatically.
Moscow is prepared to assist in talks between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear program, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
“Russia believes that the United States and Iran should resolve all problems through negotiations,” Peskov said in remarks to Bloomberg’s Daybreak podcast on March 4.
Moscow, he added, “is ready to do everything in its power to achieve this.”
In subsequent remarks, Peksov declined to confirm reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to mediate would-be talks between Iran and the United States.
On March 5, Peskov said at a news conference that the issue of Iran’s nuclear program “should be resolved exclusively through peaceful, political, and diplomatic means.”
Describing Iran as an ally and partner of Russia, he said Moscow was “ready to do everything possible” to assist in finding a diplomatic solution.
The United States, Peskov added, “is aware of this.”
Since Russia invaded eastern Ukraine in 2022, it has drawn increasingly close to Iran. In January, the two countries signed a landmark strategic partnership deal.
‘Maximum Pressure’
Early last month, Trump revived his “maximum pressure” approach to Iran, which he applied throughout much of his first term in office from 2017 to 2021.
Ostensibly aimed at stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, the policy entails a range of measures aimed at reducing Iranian oil exports to zero.
“With me, it’s very simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said on Feb. 4 after signing a presidential memorandum reimposing the policy.
He added that he remained open to holding talks with Tehran, voicing a willingness to meet his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian.
On March 4, Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said the U.S. administration was willing to talk to “adversaries and allies alike” but from “a position of strength” to defend national security.
By Adam Morrow
