Putin says he does not want to discuss the possible Israeli-US killing of Iran’s supreme leader
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said one should always look at whether the main aim was being achieved before starting something.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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ST PETERSBURG, Russia – Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 19 refused to discuss the possibility that Israel and the US would kill Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and said the Iranian people were consolidating around the leadership in Tehran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has openly speculated that Israel’s military attacks could result in regime change in Iran, while US President Donald Trump said on June 17 that the US knew where Mr Khamenei was “hiding” but that Washington was not going to kill him “for now”
When asked what his reaction would be if Israel did kill Mr Khamenei with the assistance of the US, Mr Putin said: “I do not even want to discuss this possibility. I do not want to.”
When pressed, he said he had heard the remarks about possibly killing Mr Khamenei, but that he did not want to discuss it.
“We see that today in Iran, with all the complexity of the internal political processes taking place there... that there is a consolidation of society around the country’s political leadership,” Mr Putin told senior news agency editors in the northern Russian city of St Petersburg.
He said all sides should look for ways to end hostilities in a way that ensured both Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear power and Israel’s right to the unconditional security of the Jewish state.
The Russian leader was speaking as Mr Trump kept the world guessing
Mr Putin said he had personally been in touch with Mr Trump and with Mr Netanyahu, and that he had conveyed Moscow’s ideas on resolving the conflict.
Iran’s nuclear facilities
Questioned about possible regime change in Iran, Mr Putin said that before getting into something, one should always look at whether the main aim is being achieved before starting something.
He added that Iran’s underground uranium enrichment facilities were still intact.
“These underground factories, they exist, nothing has happened to them,” he said, adding that all sides should seek a resolution that ensured the interests of both Iran and Israel.
“It seems to me that it would be right for everyone to look for ways to end hostilities and find ways for all parties to this conflict to come to an agreement with each other,” the Russian leader said. “In my opinion, in general, such a solution can be found.”
When asked if Russia was ready to provide Iran with modern weapons to defend itself against Israeli strikes, he said a strategic partnership treaty signed with Tehran in January did not envisage military cooperation and that Iran had not made any formal request for assistance.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on June 18 that Moscow was telling the US not to strike Iran because it would radically destabilise the Middle East.
A spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry also warned that Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities risked triggering a nuclear catastrophe.
Mr Putin said Israel had given Moscow assurances that Russian specialists helping to build two more reactors at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran would not be hurt in air strikes.
He added that Moscow had “a very good relationship with Iran” and that Russia could ensure Iran’s interests in nuclear energy.
Russia has offered to take enriched uranium from Iran and to supply nuclear fuel to the country’s civil energy programme.
“It is possible to ensure Iran’s interests in the field of peaceful nuclear energy. And at the same time, to address Israel’s concerns about its security,” Mr Putin said.
“We have outlined them (our ideas) to our partners from the US, Israel and Iran.” REUTERS
