Iran urges Kyiv not to be affected by European politicians

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a phone talk with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on Friday. 

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has experienced an eight-year imposed war and is therefore against wars in Ukraine, Yemen, etc.,” he said, according to a readout of the call provided by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

“We have good relations with Russia and have had defense cooperation in the past, but our policy toward the war in Ukraine is to respect the territorial integrity of [both] countries, not to send weapons to the warring parties, and [calling for] an end to the war and displacement of people,” he said.

He added that the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic is completely clear and is based on a single standard which is opposition to the war, saying that Tehran is ready to hold technical meetings with the presence of military experts between the two countries without the need for any intermediaries.

He also said Iran is ready to help the two sides reach a ceasefire.

“I believe that Ukraine should be careful not to be influenced by some extreme European politicians,” he added.

Kuleba, for his part, appreciated Iran’s position on not sending weapons to Russia for use in the Ukraine war.

He said it was important to hold talks between the technical-military delegations of the two countries, adding that Kyiv does not act under the influence of third parties.

Both Iran and Russia have repeatedly rejected claims that Tehran has provided Moscow with drones to be used in the war in Ukraine.

The anti-Iran claims first emerged in July, with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan alleging that Washington had received “information” indicating that the Islamic Republic was preparing to provide Russia with “up to several hundred drones, including weapons-capable UAVs on an expedited timeline” for use in the war.

ZZ/PR