The head of Russia's Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, spoke last night (Monday) with the head of the National Security Council Tzachi Hanegbi against the background of widespread tensions with Iran following the attack on Israel last Saturday. According to the announcement of the Russian government, Patrushev called on Israel to exercise restraint.
"Russia insists on resolving disputes exclusively through political and diplomatic means," said the statement of the Russian Security Council. "All parties must show restraint and responsibility in order not to lead to an overall escalation in the Middle East."
Patrushev and Negbi's conversation comes after Russia refused to condemn Iran for Saturday's attack, claiming in its statement that it was a "right to self-defense".
"On the night of April 14, a large number of missiles and drones were launched into Israel. According to the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this attack was carried out within the framework of its right of self-defense, in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, and in response to attacks on Iranian targets in the region - including the attack on the building of the consular department of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus on April 1, which our country strongly condemned," said the spokeswoman for Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova.
"Unfortunately, due to the position of the Western countries, the UN Security Council was unable to respond adequately to the attack on the Iranian consular mission," she added. "We express our utmost concern about further dangerous escalation in the region. We have repeatedly warned that failure to resolve the numerous crises in the Middle East, especially in the field of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which are often fueled by irresponsible provocative actions, will lead to increased tensions.
"We call on all parties involved to exercise restraint. We hope that regional countries will solve existing problems through political and diplomatic means. We believe that it is important that constructive international actors contribute to this," concluded Zakharova.