MOSCOW, March 5. /TASS/. Moscow stands ready to act as a mediator between Iran and the US; Washington may use the Kurds in its war against Tehran; and NATO is unwilling to abandon its eastward expansion plans. These stories topped Thursday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Iran and the United States still have the opportunity to communicate through Switzerland, a source in the European country’s Foreign Ministry told Izvestia. Moscow also stands ready to act as a mediator, said Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna.
"I think Tehran would willingly use our mediation services in the current situation. However, the Americans are making it clear that they don’t need mediators and that Washington will cope with the current challenges on its own. But in fact, the Americans aren’t doing particularly well," Ulyanov noted.
However, in his view, it’s hard to imagine Washington and Tehran engaging in negotiations at this point. For the US, it’s crucial to rule out the possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, while Iran sees the lifting of US sanctions as a priority. This cannot be achieved through military means, so the parties will need to hold talks at later stages, the diplomat believes.
