Executive summary:Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting Iran. According to Qatar’s Al Jazeera on the 19th, Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei said during a meeting with Putin in Tehran that even if Russia did not launch military action against Ukraine, NATO would eventually launch a war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting Iran. According to Qatar’s Al Jazeera on the 19th, Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei said during a meeting with Putin in Tehran that even if Russia did not launch military action against Ukraine, NATO would eventually launch a war.
Al Jazeera: Khamenei tells Putin that NATO will eventually start war in Ukraine
“War is a violent and thorny issue, and the Islamic Republic would never like civilians to be involved, but with Ukraine, if you don’t take the initiative, the other side will take the initiative and start the war,” Khamenei said. Al Jazeera quoted him as saying: “If the road in front of NATO is clear, then it will not care. If its actions in Ukraine are not blocked, then it will also use Crimea as an excuse to start the same war.”
According to reports, Putin said on the 19th that civilians were killed in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict as a “huge tragedy”, but he said that it was the Western approach that triggered Russia’s “reaction”.
Al Jazeera also said that Iran’s Supreme Leader’s Office released a photo of Khamenei shaking hands with Putin on the same day, which is a “rare scene” since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic. Al Jazeera mentioned that Khamenei had only shaken hands with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who made a surprise visit to Tehran in May this year. ↓
Pictured from the Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran
According to the report, this is Putin’s fifth visit to Tehran, Iran since 2007. He visited Tehran for the first time in 2007, and then visited Tehran in 2015, 2017 and 2018. In addition, this is Putin’s second foreign visit since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
On the evening of July 19 local time, Iranian President Lehi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Erdogan held talks in Tehran, the capital of Iran, and exchanged views on resolving the Syrian issue under the framework of the Astana process. According to the website of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a joint statement issued after the meeting, the three parties emphasized the leading role of the Astana process in the peaceful and sustainable settlement of the Syrian crisis; reaffirmed the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria and the UN Charter A firm commitment to the purposes and principles; expressed the determination to continue to work together to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations; and reiterated its belief that the conflict in Syria cannot be resolved by military means.
The Astana talks on the Syrian issue were initiated by Russia, Turkey and Iran in January 2017. The main purpose is to promote the ceasefire between the government forces and opposition forces in Syria and to cooperate in combating terrorist organizations in Syria, and to reach an agreement on major domestic political issues in Syria. Intentional consensus to seek a solution to the Syrian crisis. Under the framework of this peace talks mechanism, relevant parties have held many international conferences.
Original title: Khamenei shakes hands with Putin, foreign media: “rare scene” since the epidemic!
