Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in the Kremlin on Monday, calling the US airstrikes on Iran an “absolutely unprovoked aggression.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday that it “strongly condemned” US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, calling the attacks “a gross violation of international law, the UN Charter, and UN Security Council resolutions.”
“This is an absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran; [it] has no basis or justification,” Putin said at Monday’s meeting.
“We, for our part, are making efforts to provide assistance to the Iranian people,” Putin said, noting Russia’s “long-standing, good, reliable relations with Iran.”
Araghchi thanked Russia for condemning the actions of Israel and the US against Iran, saying that “Russia today is on the right side of history and international law.”
“These aggressive actions by Israel and the US are completely illegitimate and violate international rules and international norms. We are defending our sovereignty and country, and our defense is legitimate,” he said.
Araghchi said that Russia has always been Iran’s partner in the peaceful nuclear energy sector and played a positive role in negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program.
“In the sphere of Iran’s nuclear program, Russia has always been a partner for us. It built the Bushehr nuclear power plant,” he said.
