President Trump’s drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani drew criticism from Russia and sparked a flurry of talks between Western powers and Moscow, which has partnered with Iran on key issues.
“Washington’s step is fraught with grave consequences for regional peace and stability,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “We are guided by the premise that such actions are not conducive to finding solutions to the complex problems that have piled up in the Middle East. On the contrary, they lead to a new round of escalation of tensions in the region.”
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Soleimani had personal relationships in Moscow, where he traveled repeatedly in violation of a United Nations travel ban imposed in 2007 as part of the sanctions package targeting the regime’s nuclear weapons program. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard chief coordinated with Russia to help prop up Bashar Assad, the Syrian dictator who has used a combination of chemical weapons, Russian airstrikes, and Iranian manpower to survive a bloody civil war.
“This is probably the height of cynicism,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Friday in a statement. “Washington did not appeal to the Security Council, which means that it is not interested in the world’s response [and that it is] interested in changing the balance of power in the region.”
Russian complaints are insincere and inconsequential in American eyes. “They don’t love Iran or Soleimani,” a senior U.S. official told the Washington Examiner. “They won’t shed tears over him.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after the strike, in which he emphasized that Trump approved the operation in response to intelligence reports that Suleimani was personally orchestrating an impending attack on Americans in Iraq. “The secretary made clear that the United States remains committed to de-escalation,” the State Department summary of the conversation noted.
