Iran foreign minister to meet key ally Putin
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters that consultations with Russia "can certainly be of great importance". PHOTO: AFP
Follow our live coverage here.
MOSCOW - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was due to hold 'important' talks with key ally Vladimir Putin on June 23 , 48 hours after a major US attack on Iran's key nuclear facilities.
Moscow is a crucial backer of Tehran, but has not swung forcefully behind its partner since Israel launched a wave of attacks on June 13, strikes that triggered Iran to respond with missiles and drones.
While Russia condemned the Israeli and US strikes, it has not offered military help and has downplayed its obligations under a sweeping strategic partnership agreement signed with Tehran just months ago.
'In this new dangerous situation ... our consultations with Russia can certainly be of great importance,' Russian state media reported Mr Araghchi as saying after landing in Moscow.
The official IRNA news agency reported on June 22 that Mr Araghchi would 'hold consultations with the president and other senior officials of Russia regarding regional and international developments following the military aggression by the United States and the Zionist regime against Iran'.
Mr Putin initially pitched himself as a possible mediator between Iran and Israel, but on June 20 said he was only 'suggesting ideas', after US President Donald Trump pushed back against a role for the Kremlin leader.
'We are by no means seeking to act as a mediator, we are simply suggesting ideas,' Mr Putin said at an economic forum in St Petersburg.
'If they turn out to be attractive to both sides, we will only be happy,' he added.
Russia's foreign ministry on J une 21 condemned the US strikes as 'irresponsible', after having previously warned against military intervention. AFP
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
37 minutes ago
- Straits Times
UK police ban Palestine Action protest outside parliament
FILE PHOTO: The Houses of Parliament are seen during a sunset in London, Britain, November 4, 2019. REUTERS/Yara Nardi/ File Photo LONDON - British police have banned campaign group Palestine Action from protesting outside parliament on Monday, a rare move that comes after two of its members broke into a military base last week and as the government considers banning the organisation. The group said in response that it had changed the location of its protest on Monday to Trafalgar Square, which lies just outside the police exclusion zone. The pro-Palestinian organisation is among groups that have regularly targeted defence firms and other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza. British media have reported that the government is considering proscribing, or effectively banning, Palestine Action, as a terrorist organisation, putting it on a par with al-Qaeda or ISIS. London's Metropolitan Police said late on Sunday that it would impose an exclusion zone for a protest planned by Palestine Action outside the Houses of Parliament - a popular location for protests in support of a range of causes. "The right to protest is essential and we will always defend it, but actions in support of such a group go beyond what most would see as legitimate protest," Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said. "We have laid out to Government the operational basis on which to consider proscribing this group." Palestine Action's members are alleged to have caused millions of pounds of criminal damage, assaulted a police officer with a sledgehammer and, in the incident last week, damaged two military aircraft, Rowley added. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
43 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Romania's new coalition faces confidence vote, hoping to end long deadlock
BUCHAREST - Romania's designated prime minister Ilie Bolojan will ask parliament on Monday for a vote of confidence in his coalition that could end months of political deadlock but also pave the way for a potentially destabilizing change of premier in 2027. The European Union and NATO state has been rocked by political instability in the wake of a presidential election which was canceled in December and re-run in May, with market turmoil boosting borrowing costs and crashing the leu currency. Bolojan's nomination to head a broad pro-European coalition government by centrist President Nicusor Dan, who ultimately won the divisive election at the detriment of the far right, comes after a month of political wrangling over the fiscal measures needed to lower the European Union's highest budget deficit and avoid a ratings downgrade to below investment grade. The government will include Bolojan's Liberal Party, centre-left Social Democrats, centre-right Save Romania Union and ethnic Hungarian party UDMR, with the four parties also backed by national minorities in parliament. The confidence vote is expected to take place later on Monday and confirm Bolojan in his position. While the coalition will have broad support - around 70% of parliament, all but three hard-right groupings - its endurance will depend on unpopular tax hikes and whether the four parties enforce agreed cuts to state spending. The party leaders have agreed to rotate prime ministers before a 2028 parliamentary election, with Bolojan swapping with a leftist Social Democrat in April 2027. The Social Democrats are Romania's largest party and a ruling majority cannot be achieved without them, but the switch of prime ministers could be a destabilizing step as policies and positions are reassessed. "I am thanking coalition partners because faced with a difficult situation for Romania and ... regardless of political orientation and past conflicts we have had the maturity to reach a political agreement for a stable government," Bolojan said after the parties formally signed up to a coalition agreement on Monday. UDMR party leader Kelemen Hunor told reporters the government will initially focus on cuts to state spending and approve potential tax hikes in August-September. He said the main value added tax - a key tax the European Commission, ratings agencies and analysts said should be hiked to lower the deficit - will remain at 19% for now, while two lower 5% and 9% rates will be consolidated in a single 9% one. Other measures could include higher excise duties, a higher dividend tax, higher property taxes, eliminating exemptions and listing state-owned companies on the bourse. The three ratings agencies have scheduled Romanian reviews in August, September and October. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
44 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Kremlin says Russia deeply regrets and condemns the US strikes on Iran
FILE PHOTO: The Russian flag flies on the dome of the Kremlin Senate building behind Spasskaya Tower in Moscow, Russia June 2, 2025. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File photo Kremlin says Russia deeply regrets and condemns the US strikes on Iran MOSCOW - Russia deeply regrets and condemns the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, the Kremlin said on Monday. The U.S. actions had increased the number of participants in the conflict and ushered in a new spiral of escalation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He added it was not yet clear what had happened to Iran's nuclear facilities and whether there was a radiation hazard. The situation on the ground in Iran after the strikes cannot fail to be a cause of concern, he said. Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran in January, although it did not include a mutual defence clause. Before Saturday's U.S. strikes, Moscow had warned that U.S. military intervention could destabilise the entire region and plunge it into the "abyss". Peskov said U.S. President Donald Trump had not told Russian President Vladimir Putin in detail about the planned strikes in advanced, although they had discussed the possibility of U.S. military involvement more generally. Asked what Russia was ready to do now, Peskov said Moscow had offered its services as a mediator, and what happened next would depend on what Iran needed. Putin is due to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi later on Monday. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
