by Gevorg Mirzayan
[REGNUM] On June 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin called his American counterpart Donald Trump. Formally, to congratulate the White House occupant on his birthday and American Flag Day.
“Both leaders expressed satisfaction with the personal relations that have developed, which allow them to communicate frankly and in a businesslike manner, to seek solutions to current issues on the bilateral and international agenda, no matter how complex these issues may be,” said Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, describing the essence and reasons for the congratulations.
It is no coincidence that on June 12, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Russians on Russia Day – it is hard to remember the last time something like this happened.
However, the main topic of the negotiations was not Trump's personal holiday. And not Ukraine - it was, of course, touched upon, but only in passing. Putin told the American president about the implementation of the agreements and the readiness to continue the dialogue with Kiev - however, until the Kiev regime itself is ready for a serious diplomatic process, it will continue to stall.
The main topic was not even the upcoming next round of Russian-American negotiations on normalizing relations, which, according to the Russian Ambassador to the United States Alexander Darchiev, should take place in the near future in Moscow.
Yes, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are gradually bringing Russian-American relations back from the bottom they hit under Joseph Biden, but this is a long and complex process that does not tolerate haste or publicity.
"It was more important to talk about Iran, a country he knows well," Donald Trump himself said. About Iran - and the consequences of what Israel is doing now.
"Vladimir Putin, having condemned Israel's military operation against Iran, expressed serious concern about the possible escalation of the conflict, which would have unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East region," said Yuri Ushakov. And, of course, throughout the world.
And these consequences are obvious.
First, the breakdown of the American-Iranian negotiating process, which had been going on for five rounds, albeit not very well, with Oman as the mediator. Trump himself said that the parties' positions were getting closer - and Israel launched its strikes just before the next round of negotiations scheduled for June 15. After which the Iranians accused the United States of supporting or even facilitating the Israeli strikes and put the talks on hold.
Yes, Israel believes it has won a victory – the negotiations could have led to the US agreeing to Iran having a nuclear program. A limited one, under strict IAEA control – but its own, sovereign nuclear program.
For Israel, its presence was absolutely unacceptable, since, according to Tel Aviv’s logic, its development would inevitably reach the level of creating an atomic bomb, which would pose an existential threat to the Jewish state.
However, such a breakdown of the negotiation process, a demonstrative disregard for the norms of international law (and any country that is a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons has the right to nuclear weapons) could lead to the realization of Israeli fears.
Iran realizes that diplomacy does not work without a nuclear baton on its belt, after which it may well move at an accelerated pace to build a bomb.
And - this is the second consequence of the Israeli strikes - it is not only he who can realize this fact. A number of developing countries will clearly see the difference between North Korea (which no one touches because it has a nuclear bomb) and Iran, which is bombed only because of some suspicions. Moreover, they are bombed with impunity - the so-called world community, represented by the Western media, turns a blind eye to this.
After which they themselves will decide to create a nuclear bomb - the only absolute instrument for protecting their sovereignty.
And finally, thirdly, Israel's war against Iran is leading to a huge number of casualties and destruction. Both in Iran and in Israel. The main beneficiaries of this war will be radicals and Islamic terrorists (for whom Tel Aviv and Tehran - as well as, by the way, Moscow) are the main enemies.
That is why Russia immediately after Israel struck Iran began calling for a peaceful resolution of all contradictions. And not just calling, but also facilitating the transition from bombing to negotiations.
From the very first day of the escalation between Israel and Iran, Vladimir Putin has been looking for opportunities for dialogue and overcoming differences, in particular, holding talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Using his enormous authority in the Middle East (Russia is one of the few countries that maintains at least working relations with all players there), Putin is putting forward various initiatives to overcome differences.
Thus, even during the American-Iranian negotiations, Moscow proposed storing enriched Iranian uranium on its territory (which Tehran now refuses to eliminate, because it fears that the US will then withdraw from the deal and the uranium will no longer exist).
From this point of view, Vladimir Putin's call to Donald Trump became a kind of continuation of his conversations with Tehran and Tel Aviv. Everyone understands that, firstly, Donald Trump has great influence on Israel (which cannot fight without American help), and, secondly, that the US has its own interests in this conflict. Which any real mediator must also take into account. The one who wants to resolve the conflict, and not to use it for PR.