Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes fingers with Chinese President Xi Jinping. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday (June 19, 2025) strongly condemned Israeli assaults on Iran in a cellphone name and harassed the necessity for a diplomatic solution, Moscow and Beijing mentioned.
Israel has launched an unprecedented wave of strikes at Iran that prompted Tehran to reply with its personal assaults with missiles and drones.
Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi “strongly condemn Israel’s actions”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov instructed reporters after the decision.
He added that Moscow and Beijing believed the tip to the hostilities “should be achieved exclusively by political and diplomatic means”.
Mr. Xi instructed Mr. Putin {that a} ceasefire was the “top priority” and urged Israel to halt its assaults, Chinese state media reported.
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“Promoting a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities is the top priority. Armed force is not the correct way to resolve international disputes,” Mr. Xi mentioned, in keeping with China’s state information company Xinhua.
“Parties to the conflict, especially Israel, should cease hostilities as soon as possible to prevent a cyclical escalation and resolutely avoid the spillover of the war,” he added.
Mr. Putin is pitching himself as a mediator between the warring sides.
Russia is near Iran, having boosted army ties amid its offensive on Ukraine, but additionally strives for good relations with Israel.
Last week, Mr. Putin held cellphone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, providing himself as a peacemaker.
The Kremlin mentioned that Mr. Xi had spoken “in favour of such mediation, since he believes that it could serve to de-escalate the current situation”, Ushakov mentioned.
But Western leaders, together with U.S. President Donald Trump and France’s Emmanuel Macron have pushed again in opposition to the thought of Putin making an attempt to mediate the battle amid his personal Ukraine offensive.
“He actually offered to help mediate, I said: ‘do me a favour, mediate your own’,” Mr. Trump instructed reporters on Wednesday about Putin’s efforts.
“Let’s mediate Russia first, okay? I said, Vladimir, let’s mediate Russia first, you can worry about this later.”
Published – June 19, 2025 10:51 pm IST