ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Wednesday to help mediate an end to the conflict between Israel and Iran, suggesting Moscow could help negotiate a settlement that could allow Tehran to pursue a peaceful atomic program while assuaging Israeli security concerns.
Speaking at a roundtable session with senior news leaders of international news agencies, Mr. Putin noted that “it’s a delicate issue,” but added that “in my view, a solution could be found.”
Mr. Putin said he shared Moscow’s proposals with Iran, Israel and the United States. His comments follow a mediation offer that he made in a call with U.S. President Trump last weekend.
Mr. Trump said Wednesday that he told Mr. Putin to keep focused on finding an endgame to his own conflict with Ukraine.
“I said, ‘Do me a favor, mediate your own,’” Mr. Trump said he told Mr. Putin. “I said, ‘Vladimir, let’s mediate Russia first. You can worry about this later.’”
The comments represented a shift for Mr. Trump, who earlier this week said he was “open” to Mr. Putin’s offer to mediate.
Mr. Putin, meeting with senior news leaders of international news agencies, including The Associated Press, on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, emphasized that Russia has a relationship with Iran and built its first nuclear power plant in Bushehr.
Russia has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East for decades, trying to navigate its warm relations with Israel even as it has developed strong economic and military ties with Iran, a policy that potentially opens opportunities for Moscow to play power broker to help end the confrontation.
Mr. Putin’s comments at the meeting will also be watched closely for clues to his strategy in the three-year conflict in Ukraine, where Russia has intensified its aerial campaign and stepped up ground attacks along the more than 600-mile front line. He has effectively rejected Trump’s offer of an immediate 30-day ceasefire, making it conditional on a halt on Ukraine’s mobilization effort and a freeze on Western arms supplies.
The Russian leader has used the annual forum to highlight Russia’s economic achievements and seek foreign investment. Western executives, who attended the event in the past, have avoided it after Mr. Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, leaving it to business leaders from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Mr. Putin met earlier with former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who now heads the New Development Bank created by the BRICS alliance of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. He is also set to have meetings with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and he’s also expected to confer with top officials from China, South Africa and Bahrain and the head of the OPEC group of oil-producing countries.
On Friday, he is set to attend a panel discussion at the forum, a venue he has used to make policy statements.