MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov held talks in Kyrgyzstan on Monday with Iran's Deputy Defence Minister Reza Talaei-Nik, state-run TASS news agency reported.
Belousov reiterated Russia's longstanding position that the Iran war should be resolved exclusively through diplomatic means and said he was confident Moscow and Tehran would continue to support one another.
Talaei-Nik also traveled to Belarus, one of Russia's closest allies, where Belarus' Defence Ministry said he discussed the Middle East situation with Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin.
The ministry, quoted by the state BelTA news agency, said both officials agreed that the sole way to resolve the conflict was "a return to the sphere of a political-diplomatic settlement and the intensification of the process of negotiations."
The ministry statement said the meeting "confirmed the mutual interest of Minsk and Tehran for a further deepening of their joint interaction".
In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and praised the Iranian people for battling to stay independent in the face of US and Israeli pressure and said Moscow would do all it could to help Tehran.