Iran won’t allow anything to disrupt its strategic ties with Russia: Khatibzadeh

Iran has emphasized the significance of strong bilateral ties between the Islamic Republic and Russia, saying Tehran will not allow anything to disrupt ties between the all-weather allies.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh, in an interview with Russia’s Sputnik news agency, said relations between Tehran and Moscow are “strategic” and cannot be allowed to be disrupted.

Commenting on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he blamed the current situation in Ukraine on NATO’s eastward expansion and the West’s failure to take into consideration Russia’s security concerns.

In December last year, Moscow urged NATO not to allow Ukraine and other former Soviet countries to join the Western military alliance.

It also called on the alliance to stop its military deployments to Ukraine and to withdraw its forces from Eastern Europe, demanding legally binding guarantees.

The Russian demands were flatly rejected.

“NATO must know that the path of confrontation does not have a happy ending,” Khatibzadeh said.

Referring to Tehran’s efforts to achieve peace between Moscow and Kiev, the spokesman expressed his country's readiness to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine.

“Iran intends to launch a new round of efforts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine," he announced.

SS