Russia warns US ground operation in Iran would worsen situation in Mideast

MOSCOW

Russia warned on Monday that a US ground operation in Iran would only worsen the situation in the Middle East.

Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko made these remarks while speaking at the plenary session of the international conference "Russia and India: Towards a New Agenda for Bilateral Relations" in Moscow. However, he expressed doubt that Washington would take such a step.

"It seems that if such plans were to be implemented, though the prospects still do not look very convincing, if that were to happen, of course, it would lead to a further exacerbation of the situation, cause further escalation, and be unlikely to bring the end of this conflict any closer," he said.

Turning to Iran's actions, he said Russia does not support the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, although it sees Tehran's actions as self-defense.

"Iran, like other countries, also has the right to self-defense as it sees fit. That does not mean we approve of everything that is happening there," he said.

He added: "We call for a resolution to this entire conflict, first and foremost for the cessation of the aggression by the Americans and Israelis against Iran. Because everything happening in the Strait of Hormuz is a direct consequence of this illegal action."

Rudenko also said Russia will demand that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) take a clear position on the inadmissibility of shelling the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran.

"We will demand a clearer response from the IAEA to the incident so that such things do not happen again, because, God forbid, something happens, it would threaten a huge disaster for the entire Middle East region," he said.

As for Russia's attitude toward the US, it has not changed because of the situation in the Middle East, he said.

"We never had any illusions about the US. So we haven't changed anything. We have a very principled line regarding states — the main thing is that these countries comply with the international principles and norms they have signed up to. Unfortunately, in this particular case, the US has deviated from that," he remarked.

Regarding the situation in Ukraine, Rudenko said Moscow is ready for negotiations, but no specific dates for holding them have been set.

"As far as I know, there are no specific dates. We are ready for such negotiations if there is a reciprocal desire from the Ukrainian side," he noted.

Rudenko also said that the dates of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China are being worked out and will be announced in the near future.

In addition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov may visit India in the near future, he noted.

For his part, addressing the Russia-India conference earlier in the day, Lavrov said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Russia this year.