Russia Calls for Restraint after Iranian Strikes on Israel

People drive along a street in Jerusalem on April 14, 2024. (AFP)
People drive along a street in Jerusalem on April 14, 2024. (AFP)
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Russia Calls for Restraint after Iranian Strikes on Israel

People drive along a street in Jerusalem on April 14, 2024. (AFP)
People drive along a street in Jerusalem on April 14, 2024. (AFP)

Russia said on Sunday it was extremely concerned by Iranian strikes on Israel and called on all parties to exercise restraint but said tensions would remain high until the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians was resolved.

"We express our extreme concern over another dangerous escalation in the region," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement on the Iranian attacks. "We call on all parties involved to exercise restraint."

Russia noted that Tehran had said the attack was made within the right to self defense after Israel's strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus that Moscow condemned.

Russia, which has close ties to Iran, said that the West had blocked attempts in the United Nations Security Council to respond to the Israeli strike on the consulate.

"We have repeatedly warned that the numerous unresolved crises in the Middle East, primarily in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, which are often fueled by irresponsible provocative actions, will lead to an increase in tension," the ministry said.

The Kremlin has yet to comment publicly.

But Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that a war between Israel and Iran would worsen Joe Biden's prospects of being re-elected US president.

"America does not want a big war in the Middle East," Medvedev said on Telegram. "The killings in Gaza worsen Biden's prospects in the elections, and war between Israel and Iran would introduce additional uncertainty."



Cyprus Says US Decree on Security Affirms Island's Stabilizing Role in Region

Nicosia, Cyprus | Photo: Getty Images
Nicosia, Cyprus | Photo: Getty Images
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Cyprus Says US Decree on Security Affirms Island's Stabilizing Role in Region

Nicosia, Cyprus | Photo: Getty Images
Nicosia, Cyprus | Photo: Getty Images

Cyprus on Thursday hailed a US memorandum allowing military sales, including arms, to the island as a milestone affirming recognition of the island as a pillar of stability in the east Mediterranean region which has been fraught with conflict.
US President Joe Biden boosted security ties with Cyprus on Wednesday by issuing a memorandum that makes the island eligible to receive American defense articles, military sales and training.
Cyprus has over the years played a key role in evacuating people out of conflict zones and established a maritime corridor for aid to war-ravaged Gaza last year.
"This (memorandum) is a clear recognition of the Republic of Cyprus as a pillar of stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean, with the potential to further contribute to peace and the management of humanitarian challenges," the Cypriot presidency said in a statement.
Cyprus was close to Russia for decades, but there has been a marked shift in allegiances in recent years, Reuters said.
For many in Cyprus, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has drawn parallels to Türkiye’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974, and Cyprus, an EU member state, has followed its peers in adopting sanctions on Moscow. It is now getting FBI expertise in countering illicit finance.
Access to the US programs would enable greater interoperability to respond to regional humanitarian crises, counter malign influence, and combat terrorism and transnational organized crime, the US embassy in Nicosia said.
Deepening US-Cyprus relations are closely followed by Türkiye, which in September criticized the signing of a roadmap to boost defense co-operation between the United States and Cyprus.
Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion following a brief Greek-inspired coup in 1974, following years of sporadic violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots which triggered the collapse of a power-sharing administration in 1963.