Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, arrived in Russia on Monday for talks with President Vladimir V. Putin on Iran’s war with the United States, as negotiations between Tehran and Washington to end the conflict appear to have stalled.
Mr. Araghchi’s trip came after he spent the weekend traveling to Pakistan and Oman, which have both acted as mediators in the negotiations. He was supposed to meet with Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, in Pakistan over the weekend, but Mr. Trump abruptly called off the trip.
Mr. Trump’s decision to cancel the trip suggested that the two sides remained far from agreeing on a comprehensive deal to end the war.
After Mr. Araghchi landed in St. Petersburg on Monday, he said he intended to discuss the war with Mr. Putin and other officials and conduct “necessary coordination,” according to Iranian state media.
But even though Russia is a key ally of Iran, it has sought to avoid becoming entangled in the conflict, analysts say. Mr. Putin’s main interest, they say, is to persuade Mr. Trump to press Ukraine to accept a peace deal favorable to Moscow.
Russia has also tried to maintain strong ties with Israel and the Persian Gulf countries that Iran has attacked in response to the U.S. and Israeli military offensive that began in late February.
And so Mr. Araghchi’s trip to Russia underscores the difficult balance that Moscow has sought to strike in the conflict.
Russia has been “largely limiting its interaction with Iran,” said Nikita Smagin, an analyst based in Baku, Azerbaijan, who specializes in Russia’s role in the Middle East. Mr. Smagin said this approach was “rational,” given Russia’s long-term interests in Ukraine.
“While it is providing slightly more than it used to, Russia is still trying to be cautious in the areas where Iran needs it most — primarily regarding the supply of weaponry,” he said.
But, he added, Russia also does not want “to ruin her relationships with the Gulf states, Israel and Trump.”
Russia has, though, supported Iran in some ways.
Shortly after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, Russia condemned the strikes as a “deliberate, premeditated and unprovoked act of armed aggression.”
Moscow has also provided intelligence to Tehran, including satellite imagery showing the locations of American warships and military personnel, according to U.S. officials. European officials have warned that Russia may be preparing to deliver advanced drones to Iran.
In addition, Moscow has provided diplomatic cover for Iran at the United Nations, vetoing a resolution that called for countries to cooperate to open the Strait of Hormuz. And Mr. Putin and Sergey V. Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, have maintained regular contact with their Iranian counterparts. Russia and Iran do not share a border, but they trade via the Caspian Sea, a link that has become more important since the American blockade of Iranian ports.
Mr. Smagin pointed out that Moscow-linked facilities in Iran, including the Bushehr nuclear plant where Russia is building two reactors, have been attacked at least four times, according to Iranian officials. In March, Russia’s foreign ministry said a consulate in Isfahan, a city in central Iran, was damaged in an attack and that a Russian Orthodox church was damaged in Tehran this month. Russia has condemned the attacks but did not retaliate.
Moscow has been one of the major beneficiaries of the energy crisis sparked by the conflict. Russian oil and gas revenues have plummeted since last year, partly because of Western sanctions, but a surge in global energy prices because of the war in Iran has provided a windfall for Moscow.
Sanam Mahoozi contributed reporting from London.
Source:
www.nytimes.com
