Putin Again Offers Mediation to Settle Middle East War

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian mediation to end the war in the Middle East.

The war broke out between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other last February. Israel withdrew from the scene after a memorandum of understanding was reached between Washington and Tehran, but a fragile truce quickly collapsed. However, mutual escalation was limited to attempts to control navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, vital for global energy supplies.

While the American president announced progress in indirect negotiations with Iran on Thursday, Putin held talks with his Iranian counterpart Pezeshkian ahead of a regional summit in Turkmenistan, renewing Moscow's readiness to help settle the war in the Middle East, according to Russian news agencies.

There are doubts about Pezeshkian's ability to determine his country's course in negotiations amid talk of a sharp split in the Iranian leadership between a faction seeking a political solution and another dominated by Revolutionary Guard commanders who want continued military escalation.

In light of ambiguity surrounding the status of Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, a wide spectrum of observers believe that the hardline faction is leading the decision-making process in Tehran.

Putin said, "We are ready to do everything in our power to contribute to settling this situation," praising the "positive development" in relations between Russia and Iran, which have strengthened their diplomatic and military ties since the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine in 2022.

Kiev and Western countries accused Iran of providing Russia with Shahed drone technology and short-range missiles, while Russia was accused of supplying Tehran with target data to strike American interests in the Middle East.

The two presidents met last September on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan, and before that in Turkmenistan in December 2025.

The Russian president had informed his Iranian counterpart during a phone call on Wednesday of his country's readiness to help mediate an end to the war in the Middle East, according to the official Iranian News Agency (IRNA).

The call and subsequent meeting between the two presidents came amid a stalemate hanging over Iran-US talks, after Pezeshkian stated this week that negotiations with Washington had become "meaningless."

In parallel, diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine remain stalled despite intensified attacks by both sides, while two American sources told Agence France-Presse on Thursday that President Donald Trump's envoys would discuss "new ideas" to end the war with Ukrainian negotiators in Miami on Friday.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the meeting between Putin and Pezeshkian constitutes one of several bilateral meetings scheduled on the sidelines of the summit.

The Commonwealth of Independent States was established in 1991 to limit the repercussions of the Soviet Union's collapse and maintain links between its former republics.

But a number of countries subsequently withdrew from it; Georgia left after its war with Russia (2008), Ukraine suspended its participation following Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014, and Moldova withdrew in 2023 seeking to strengthen relations with the West.

The summit takes place at a time when diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine remain stalled, despite intensified attacks by both sides, while two American sources told AFP on Thursday that President Donald Trump's envoys will discuss "new ideas" to end the war with Ukrainian negotiators in Miami on Friday.