Kremlin welcomes Israel-Iran ceasefire, hopes truce is ‘sustainable’

Moscow, Jun 24 (PTI) Russia on Tuesday welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel and hoped the truce would be a “sustainable” one.

"If it really is possible to reach a ceasefire, then this can only be welcomed. This is what the Russian Federation has been calling for from the very beginning of this conflict. Therefore, this can and should be welcomed," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media.

"We hope this will be a sustainable ceasefire," he said.

Peskov said he "saw statements from the office of the Israeli prime minister, heard statements from (Iranian Foreign Minister) Abbas Araghchi, and saw numerous statements from President (Donald) Trump".

“So far, we have not seen or heard any other statement from Tehran,” he pointed out.

Responding to a question about Moscow’s opinion on the sustainability of the ceasefire, Peskov noted, "There were contacts mediated by Qatar, as well as contacts between the US president and a number of his counterparts in the Middle East" before the announcement.

"We don't know all the details to the end, so we can't say anything here, but from the very beginning, we called for military solutions to the problem to be discarded and for any unprovoked attacks on a State, in this case Iran, to be excluded. And for the solution and settlement of existing problems to be carried out by political and diplomatic means," Peskov said.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a similar statement during his address to the delegates of more than 40 countries attending the annual Primakov Readings, said Russia welcomed the reaching of any such agreement.

He, however, noted there were reports of violations from both sides since the announcement of the ceasefire.

“So we will draw hasty conclusions on the basis of fragmented information. But we are for peace,” Lavrov said. PTI VS PY PY