 "In this pool photograph distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) attends a meeting with Vladimir Region Governor Alexander Avdeyev (L) in Moscow on July 18, 2025. Image- AFP")
Russian President Vladimir Putin held an unannounced meeting with Ali Larijani, top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader on nuclear matters, at the Kremlin on Sunday to discuss Tehran’s nuclear programme, the Kremlin said.
Larijani shared assessments of the “escalating situation in the Middle East and around the Iranian nuclear programme,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. Putin, in turn, reiterated Russia’s “well-known positions on how to stabilise the situation in the region and on the political settlement of the Iranian nuclear programme,” Peskov added.
Russia maintains strong ties with Iran’s leadership and has provided crucial backing in recent years, though it has not taken a forceful stance in support of Tehran since the United States joined Israel’s bombing campaign on Iran in June.
Putin had expressed Russia’s “well-known positions on how to stabilize the situation in the region and on the political settlement of the Iranian nuclear programme”, he added.
Separately, a German diplomatic source told AFP on Sunday that Britain, France and Germany are planning to hold fresh talks with Iran on its nuclear programme in the coming days.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency also reported that Tehran had agreed to hold talks with the three European countries, citing an unnamed source.
Last week, Russia had slammed a story by US news outlet Axios citing anonymous sources that said Putin had “encouraged” Iran to accept a deal with the United States that would prevent the Islamic republic from enriching uranium.
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View AllIran has consistently denied seeking a nuclear weapon, while defending its “legitimate rights” to the peaceful use of atomic energy.
With inputs from agencies