Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said of Oman on Tuesday to discuss Iran’s nuclear programme and the stalled talks between Washington and Tehran. The encounter at the Kremlin highlights Oman’s status as a middleman for the US and Iran.
The talks are also at a sensitive time as the Trump administration is taking a hard line in pushing for an agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear program, which Washington says is intended to build nuclear weapons one that Iran denies. The Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said the discussion was about the course of negotiations between Iranian and American officials. “We keep in close touch with our Iranian partners, and we assist wherever possible,” Ushakov quoted Putin.
President Trump has threatened the use of force against Iran if there is no agreement, a step which Russia has vigorously opposed. Russia, which signed the 2015 nuclear pact with Iran, insists that any US military intervention would be illegal. Moscow has also been engaged in efforts to strengthen its ties with Tehran and Washington amid escalating tensions.
In the meeting, Putin also said that Russia wants to develop energy ties with Oman. The meeting was focused on Russia’s strategic engagement in the Middle East region, with the meeting being the second in under a week by Putin with a regional leader. The visit was after a visit with the Emir of Qatar on April 17, and Iran’s foreign minister had been in Russia a week ago as well.
While diplomatic efforts are ongoing, the fate of the Iran-US talks is still uncertain with Russia as the facilitator of the talks.
