Putin offers to mediate Iran–Israel conflict, will exchange info with Xi

Russian president Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have agreed to exchange sensitive information on the Iran–Israel conflict, the Kremlin said on Thursday, 19 June.

“President Putin and Xi Jinping in their hour-long phone call have agreed to issue orders to their relevant agencies to share information on Iran,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov announced.

He said both leaders hold a similar stance and "strongly condemn Israel’s actions that violate the UN Charter and other norms of international law".

Israel launched Operation Rising Lion last week, targeting Iran's nuclear, missile and military infrastructure. Iran later launched retaliatory strikes on Israel.

On Wednesday, 18 June, Russia and the United Arab Emirates called for an immediate cessation of the Israel–Iran conflict and an intensification of political and diplomatic efforts to resolve Tehran’s nuclear issue.

According to the Kremlin, President Putin discussed the issue during a telephonic conversation with his UAE counterpart Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Earlier on Wednesday, Putin also offered to help mediate an end to the conflict between Israel and Iran, suggesting Moscow could help negotiate a settlement that could allow Tehran to pursue a peaceful atomic programme while assuaging Israeli security concerns.

Speaking to senior news leaders of international news agencies, Putin noted that “it's a delicate issue”, but added that “in my view, a solution could be found”.

Asked how Russia would react if Israel kills Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Putin refused to answer, saying that “I don't even want to discuss such a possibility.”

Khamenei has rejected US calls for surrender in the face of more Israeli strikes and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause “irreparable damage to them”.

Putin said he shared Moscow's proposals with Iran, Israel and the United States.

“We are not imposing anything on anyone; we are simply talking about how we see a possible way out of the situation. But the decision, of course, is up to the political leadership of all these countries, primarily Iran and Israel,” he said.

Russia has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East for decades, trying to navigate its warm relations with Israel even as it developed strong economic and military ties with Iran, a policy that could allow Moscow to play power broker.

Putin's comments follow a mediation offer that he made in a call with US president Donald Trump last weekend.

Trump said Wednesday, 18 June, that he told Putin to stay focused on finding an endgame to his own conflict with Ukraine.

“I said, 'Do me a favour, mediate your own,'” Trump said he told Putin. “I said, 'Vladimir, let's mediate Russia first. You can worry about this later.'”

The comments represented a shift for Trump, who earlier this week said he was “open” to Putin's offer to mediate in the Middle East.

Over 200 Russians remain at Iran's nuclear power plant

Putin, meeting with senior news leaders of international news agencies including the Associated Press on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, emphasised that Russia has a trusting relationship with Iran and helped built its first nuclear power plant in Bushehr on the Persian Gulf south of Tehran.

He said that over 200 Russian workers are involved in building two more reactors in Bushehr, adding that "we agreed with the Israeli leadership that their security will be ensured”.

Putin emphasised that Tehran hasn't asked Moscow for military assistance, noting the “strategic partnership” treaty between the countries that was signed in January doesn't envision such aid.

In addition to a few air defence systems that Russia supplied to Iran in the past, it also offered previously to help create comprehensive air defences, but Tehran didn't want it, he said.

“Our proposal was to create a system — not isolated deliveries, but a system,” Putin said. “We used to discuss it in the past, but the Iranian side showed little interest.”

Israel said that it knocked out Iran's Russia-supplied S-300 air defence missile systems during last year's strikes.

Consolidated AP inputs edited for brevity and clarity