Putin's Proposal on Iran Conflict Still Under Discussion, Kremlin: Russia Ready to Help

Dmitry Peskov. (Sergey Fadeichev/TASS)

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered various options for mediating the Iranian conflict and these proposals are still being discussed, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

"Since the beginning of this situation, even before the military phase began, President Putin has proposed various options for mediation and our good efforts that can help reduce tensions. Many of these proposals are still under discussion," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, launching Anadolu (10/3).

"Russia is ready to help as much as possible and will be happy to do so, but you know that this requires a lot of understanding and many agreements, so we have to be a little patient," he said.

Peskov spoke a day after President Putin spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump and, according to the Kremlin, delivered proposals aimed at quickly ending the war in Iran.

Peskov declined to elaborate on the contents of the proposal.

President Trump himself told reporters on Monday that President Putin "wants to help" in the Iran conflict, but he told the Kremlin leader, "You can help more by ending the Ukraine-Russia war."

Russia, which has a strategic partnership agreement with Iran, has condemned the war launched by the US and Israel against the Islamic Republic on February 28.

However, as a major energy exporter, Russia has benefited from the resulting higher oil prices.

Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, said over the weekend he had asked Russia not to provide intelligence to Iran, after the Washington Post said Moscow had provided targeting data to Tehran to help it attack US forces in the Middle East.

Peskov said Russia had no comment on the report and declined to say whether the issue came up during President Putin-President Trump's conversation.

When asked about Witkoff's statement, he said: "I can only say that Steve Witkoff is indeed in constant contact with the Russian parties with whom he is in conversation, and this communication channel allows them to convey signals to each other on the most sensitive issues."