Moscow Hails Steps toward Easing Tensions between Tehran, Riyadh
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Moscow welcomes any and all steps taken by Iran and Saudi Arabia to ease tensions in the region and revive dialogue between the neighboring Persian Gulf countries.
Peskov added that the region is very unstable and that it is essential to reduce tensions, especially when it comes to such key regional players as Saudi Arabia and Iran.
On March 10, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that Iran and Saudi Arabia had agreed to normalize bilateral relations and planned to open embassies within two months. The two countries, along with China, adopted a trilateral statement, in which they voiced their commitment to the principles of sovereignty and non-interference in each other's domestic affairs and plans to resume cooperation in the areas of trade, economy, culture, science, and technology.
Diplomatic relations between Tehran and Riyadh soured following the January 2016 execution of Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, an outspoken critic of the Saudi monarchy, in Saudi Arabia. Riyadh cut ties with Tehran afterwards, responding to attacks by angry protesters on its embassy in the Iranian capital.
Saudi Arabia’s military campaign against Yemen as well as the death of hundreds of Iranian Hajj pilgrims in a deadly crush in Saudi Arabia’s Mina in September 2015 had prepared the ground for the deterioration of tensions between Tehran and Riyadh.
