Russian leader says Tehran showed little interest in earlier air defense offer, rules out military alliance
Russian President Vladimir Putin said early Thursday that Iran is not seeking military support from Moscow despite escalating tensions with Israel, downplaying the possibility of a military alliance between the two countries.
“Iran is not asking us for any military assistance,” Putin said during a meeting with international news agency executives in St. Petersburg.
“Even when we offered to jointly develop air defense systems in the past, there was little interest from the Iranian side,” he added.
He also said that seeking ways to end the ongoing hostilities between Iran and Israel is “right for everyone.”
“It would be right for everyone to look for ways to stop the hostilities and find ways for all parties to this conflict to reach an agreement with each other in order to ensure both the interests of Iran on the one hand in its nuclear activity…and to ensure the interests of Israel, from the point of view of the unconditional security of the Jewish state,” he said.
Putin said there are options to ensure Iran's interests and alleviate concerns on the Israeli side and that these were presented to partners.
He also said that Russia and Iran signed a contract for the construction of two more units at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.
“The work is underway, our specialists are on site -- over 200 people. We have agreed with the Israeli leadership that their safety will be ensured," he added.
