AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
We're going to be looking at reaction from around the world to the U.S. attack on Iran - now, Russia. Our correspondent Charles Maynes is on the line from Moscow. Good morning, Charles.
CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: Morning, Ayesha.
RASCOE: So what are you hearing from the Kremlin?
MAYNES: Well, Russia's foreign ministry issued a statement announcing the U.S. attack as a violation of international law, but the Kremlin has been more muted so far. A spokesman said that President Vladimir Putin had no immediate plans to contact President Trump. That said, we do have a sense of President Putin's thinking on the issue. In fact, on Friday, I was in St. Petersburg for a speech by Putin, where he was later asked about the Iran-Israeli conflict, and he really played it down the middle. You know, Putin defended Iran's right to what he called a peaceful atom - in other words, civilian nuclear energy program. And he said Israel had a right to guarantee its own security. Now, that's not exactly new. Putin had been offering to help the U.S. with Iranian negotiations, really part of a wider effort to engage the Trump administration. Trump, in fact, said no thanks, telling Putin first to focus on ending the war in Ukraine. You know, and since then, Putin has somewhat switched gears. In fact, on Friday, he said Russia wasn't looking to mediate, but instead offer up ideas that might keep the conflict from spreading into what he warned could be World War III.
RASCOE: But Iran and Russia are allies, right? I mean, like, wouldn't you expect Moscow to come to Tehran's aid?
MAYNES: Well, some do, and it's true that Russia and Iran have grown closer in the face of Western pressure and sanctions that they, of course, both face. For example, Iran has helped Russia build factories of Iranian-designed attack drones for widespread use in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was in Moscow earlier this year to sign a much vetted strategic partnership agreement. But speaking Friday, Putin noted this was not a mutual defense pact, and he seemed to bristle at the idea that Russia was somehow an unreliable friend to Tehran, saying that such statements were made by provocateurs trying to undermine the relationship. In fact, Iran's foreign minister is headed to Moscow tomorrow.
But the larger question remains, you know, what can Russia do, given its current military commitments in Ukraine? Keep in mind that even applies to air defense systems, which Russia really needs to protect its own skies. And there's this other question, you know, what does it mean for Russia's larger ambitions as a power broker in the Middle East? Let's not forget that Russia also stood by when the government of its ally, Bashar al-Assad, was overrun by rebel forces in Syria in December of last year. And again, the key reason was Moscow was tied down with the war effort in Ukraine.
RASCOE: I mean, speaking of Ukraine, do the U.S. actions in the Middle East affect the war in Ukraine?
MAYNES: Well, hawkish voices in Moscow - like the Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev - say, in a cynical way, yes, maybe even in positive ways. Medvedev argued Trump's decision to bomb Iran has pushed U.S. efforts to end the war in Ukraine and pressure Russia into a peace deal far into the background. Trump is now fully engaged on the Iran issue, not Ukraine.
You know, the crisis in the Middle East has also given a bounce to global oil prices. You know, that's produced some relief to Moscow as it tries to wrangle, you know, massive war expenditures. And the argument here is that all of this gives Moscow freer rein to do what it has been doing, which is continuing the war despite Trump's peace efforts.
On Friday, Putin doubled down on his demands to Kyiv. He said Ukraine could accept territorial losses as they are now or face more later with Russian forces making gains. You know, and he ominously toyed with Ukraine on this point, saying that even after more than three years of full-scale war, you know, he still regarded Russians and Ukrainians as one people, which meant, in Putin's words, all of Ukraine is, quote, "ours."
RASCOE: That's NPR's Charles Maynes in Moscow. Thank you, Charles.
MAYNES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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