Answering questions at a meeting organized by TASS and attended by the managers of the world's leading news agencies as part of the International St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to a question about the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel by saying, "We are not imposing anything on anyone."
Putin said the issue was complex, emphasizing that on the one hand Iran wanted to develop peaceful nuclear energy, and on the other hand Israel was concerned about its security, saying:
“As you know, I am in personal contact with the Israeli Prime Minister in Russia and I am in contact with President Donald Trump on this issue.
"We are in constant contact with our Iranian partners. Our experts are working in Bushehr (Nuclear Power Plant) and we are not leaving. Isn't this support? Iran has not asked for any other support from us and I repeat, we have made our assessments.
“Today, society in Iran, despite all the complexity of ongoing internal political processes, is united around the country’s leadership: this is the case almost everywhere, and Iran is no exception.
"It seems to me that it would be right for everyone to seek ways to stop hostilities and find ways for all parties to this conflict to reach an agreement with each other, so that, on the one hand, Iran's interests in its nuclear activities, including, of course, peaceful nuclear activities, are secured. I'm talking about both peaceful nuclear energy and peaceful nuclear energy in other areas. And Israel's interests in terms of the absolute security of the Jewish state are secured. This is a delicate issue. And of course, we need to be very careful here, but I think that in general such a solution can be found."
