kyiv mulls severing ties with Iran — RT World News
Tehran became party to Ukraine conflict over alleged military support for Moscow, foreign minister says
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba suggested on Tuesday that kyiv should sever diplomatic ties with Iran for allegedly delivering weapons and drones to Russia. Moscow and Tehran have repeatedly denied such allegations.
Speaking at a press briefing, Kuleba denounced what he called Tehran’s politics « lies » and « despicable acts », accusing the Middle Eastern nation of « bear full responsibility for the severance of ties with Ukraine ». As a result, he said he asked Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to cut diplomatic relations with Iran.
According to Kuleba, this decision is justified by « the massive destruction inflicted by Iranian drones on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, the death and suffering inflicted on our people », as well as reports that Iran may be supplying arms to Russia.
The minister insisted that Ukraine had never taken an anti-Iranian position. “However, once Iran becomes complicit in Russian criminal aggression and crimes on our territory, we will take a very clear and honest position,” he added. he stressed, adding that if Tehran stops supplying arms to Moscow, relations could be restored.
Kuleba’s request to Zelensky comes as Ukrainian MP Alexey Goncharenko submitted a bill to parliament on Tuesday calling for the severance of diplomatic engagement with Iran and for the country to be branded a « state sponsor of terrorism » for its alleged role in the Ukrainian conflict.
In late August, the Washington Post, citing US officials, reported that Iran had sent a batch of its high-end unmanned aerial vehicles to Russia, including the Shahed-129, Shahed-191 and Mohajer-6, all of which are designed for both attack and surveillance. Later, the media said that Tehran had agreed to send its surface-to-surface missiles to Moscow.
Iran has repeatedly dismissed reports of arms shipments to Russia, citing its foreign policy, which it says is « based on active neutrality » and « oppose the war ». This statement was to some extent echoed by Russia, with Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov saying on Tuesday that all weapons used by Moscow forces bore Russian designations.
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