Putin Defends Iran's Right To Nuclear Enrichment In First Macron Phone Call In 3 Years

On Tuesday Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone for the first time in almost three years, at a moment of various global hotspots of interest to both countries.

A nearly two week war between Iran and Israel just ensued last month, at the end of which the US launched a major bombing campaign on three Iranian nuclear facilities. And the Ukraine war shows no ending in sight, with both sides refusing to make concessions. However, just this week the Trump administration confirmed that some weapons shipments to Kiev have been halted

A big question which lingers over Mideast tensions is the future of Iran's nuclear program. The White House's claim that the Islamic Republic's nuclear capability has been destroyed remains anything but certain or settled. Notably, Putin in the call defended Iran's ability and sovereign right to purse a peaceful nuclear energy program.

In the meantime, Tehran has halted cooperation with the UN's nuclear watchdog IAEA, with the Iranian president having signed this move into law on Wednesday, also amid outrage that its chief Raphael Grossi refused to condemn Israel and US aggression against Iran.

Following the call, the Kremlin issued an official statement summarizing the conversation between Presidents Macron and Putin. 

Below is the translated call readout issue by the Kremlin in full [emphasis ZH]...

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Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron emphasized that Russia and France, as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, bore particular responsibility for upholding peace and security, in the Middle East and elsewhere, as well as for preserving the global non-proliferation regime.

In this regard, it was noted that respecting Tehran’s legitimate right to develop peaceful nuclear technology and continue to fulfill its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which includes cooperating with the IAEA, was crucial.

The two leaders spoke in favor of settling the crisis around Iran’s nuclear program and any other differences arising in the Middle East exclusively via political and diplomatic means. They agreed to maintain contact in order to coordinate their stances if necessary.

When discussing the situation surrounding Ukraine, Vladimir Putin reiterated that the conflict was a direct consequence of the policies pursued by the Western countries, which had for years been ignoring Russia’s security interests, creating an anti-Russia staging ground in the country, and condoning violations of rights of Ukraine’s Russian-speaking citizens, and at present were pursuing a policy of prolonging hostilities by supplying the Kiev regime with a variety of modern weaponry.

Any negotiated settlement must bring peace for the long term, Putin reminds Macron...

Speaking about the prospects of a peaceful settlement, the President of Russia has confirmed Moscow’s stance on possible agreements: they are to be comprehensive and long-term, provide for the elimination of the root causes of the Ukraine crisis, and be based on the new territorial realities. 

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Below are more geopolitical headlines on Wednesday, via Newsquawk:

• US President posted that his representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis on Gaza and Israel agreed to the necessary conditions to finalise a 60-day ceasefire during which they will work with all parties to end the war. Furthermore, the Qataris and Egyptians will deliver this final proposal and he hopes, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this deal, because it will not get better and will only get worse.
• US officials said Iran made preparations to mine the Strait of Hormuz last month although mines were not deployed in the strait, according to Reuters.
• "Iranian Minister of Communications: Internet outages in the country caused by external attacks", according to Al Jazeera.
• "Advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC: The war has stopped, but the United States and Israel have not achieved their goals", according to Iran International.
• US Pentagon has halted shipments of some air defence missiles and other precision munitions to Ukraine due to worries that US weapons stockpiles have fallen too low, according to Politico.
• Quad joint statement expresses serious concern over the situation in the East China Sea and South China Sea, while they called for the perpetrators, organisers and financiers of the April 22nd attack in Indian Kashmir to be brought to justice.