Europe Asia News

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said he had a candid phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, stressing the need to keep channels of dialogue open.

Commenting on the content of the conversation, Sybiha said, “Diplomacy, even when difficult, is about direct dialogue. I emphasized that our goal is to prevent unnecessary escalation.”

Explaining the rationale and limits of Ukraine's military actions, Sybiha stated, “I reiterated that all of Ukraine's actions are solely intended to defend our country against Russian aggression and are never intended to target civilian ships or civilians.”

Referring to Iran's recent statements and the latest incident, Sybiha said, “This also applies to Iran's statements regarding its citizens who lost their lives in a recent incident and a civilian vessel that was targeted. Our objective is to counter Russian aggression, which is the root cause of all these events, and Russia bears full responsibility for all provocations and losses.”