U.S. has no clear exit strategy from Iran war: Russia’s UK ambassador

Russia’s ambassador to the UK told CNBC that the US-Israeli war against Iran is a “misfortune” whose goals and exit strategy remain unclear.

Andrey Kelin said Russia had “great sympathy” for Tehran and that the “best ending” to the escalating Middle East war was “only to show them that it is pointless.”

“We’re still trying to understand what President Trump’s goals are in this campaign. You know there’s been a lot of skepticism expressed about the exit strategy that the American administration might have in this effort,” Kelin told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick in an interview recorded Thursday. he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a message to Iran’s new religious leader Mujtaba Khamenei earlier this week, saying:unwavering supportHe told Tehran that the country “is and will remain a reliable partner of the Islamic Republic.”

The war has been going on for two weeks with heavy strikes reported The crisis in Iran’s capital and the strategically vital shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz were seriously disrupted.

The White House said this goals The aim of Operation Epic Fury was to destroy Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal, production capacity and navy, cut off its support to proxies in other countries, and ensure that Iran could never obtain a nuclear weapon.

The White House said Thursday that those objectives “remain firmly and consistently unchanged” since the operation began Feb. 28.

Kelin said, “We have great sympathy for Iran. We also have great sympathy for the Persian Gulf countries, there is no doubt about it. I cannot understand why everyone blames Iran at the beginning.” he said.

“[The] “The crisis, as I said, started with Israeli and US aggression against Iran, and of course it was in the middle of talks,” he continued, referring to talks last month in Geneva, Switzerland, on Iran’s nuclear program.

“My president discussed this issue with the president of the United States, and we can make a good contribution to ending and recovering this issue.”

CNBC has contacted a spokesperson from the White House and the Israeli Foreign Ministry and is awaiting a response.

Besides China Russia, which receives millions of barrels of oil from the Strait of Hormuz despite war blocking the waterway, stands as one of Iran’s most effective diplomatic partners.

British Defense Secretary John Healy he told reporters On Thursday, Putin’s “hidden hand” appeared to be behind Iran’s military playbook and potentially some of Tehran’s military capabilities.

Iran has reportedly fired more than 2,000 Shahed drones in the Middle East since the start of the war. These unmanned aerial vehicles, first designed in Iran, were used extensively during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in question The Kremlin’s own assessments earlier this week estimated that more than 1.3 million Russian soldiers have been killed and wounded on the battlefield since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. CNBC could not independently verify this report.

A. report A report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies published in January said Russia’s battlefield losses far outweighed Ukrainian deaths, with Ukrainian forces likely suffering between 500,000 and 600,000 casualties.

Kelin said he was confident that both Moscow and Kiev would eventually agree on a diplomatic solution to the war.

“I can’t say when this will happen, but a diplomatic solution is desperately needed,” Kelin said.

Kelin said the United States was “playing a constructive role in this diplomatic effort,” but added: “This will continue for some time, since Ukraine is not prepared at the moment, and Europe still prefers to support Ukraine as much as possible, supplying it with weapons and money… making no effort to demand or assist this diplomatic solution.”

U.S.-brokered talks on the Ukraine war have been suspended due to the Iran conflict, with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff telling CNBC on Tuesday that talks will likely take place next week. Ukrainian Zelenskyy had called on the United States not to lift sanctions against Russia before these talks, but the White House later moved to temporarily lift sanctions on Russia’s offshore crude oil.

Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, recently in question Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine appears to have “no end in sight.”

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, he said it was clear that Russia’s military was “bogged down” and its economy was in sharp decline.

“Russia’s maximalist demands cannot be met with a minimalist response,” Kallas said. he said. “It’s common sense that if Ukraine’s army should be limited in number, so should Russia’s.”