Kremlin | Pakistan

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to “help resolve” the standoff between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear programme, the Kremlin said on Thursday. “We have a close partnership with Tehran. And President Putin said that he was ready to use this partnership to help resolve the Iranian nuclear issue,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. After a call between the leaders on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said Putin had offered to “participate” in talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme, as Trump accused Iran of “slow-walking” its response to Washington’s offer of a deal. Washington and Tehran have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new accord to replace the nuclear deal that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018. Trump said on Monday that his administration would not allow “any” enrichment of uranium, despite Tehran’s insistence that it has the right under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said earlier...

Chinese president Xi Jinping will make an official visit to Russia from May 7-10, where he will participate in celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Kremlin said on Sunday. In a statement on Telegram, the Kremlin said that Xi will discuss with Russian President Vladimir Putin the development of the two countries’ strategic partnership, as well as signing a number of documents. “During the talks, the main issues of further development of relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction, as well as current issues on the international and regional agenda will be discussed,” the Kremlin said. The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in World War II but pushed Nazi forces back to Berlin, where Hitler died by suicide and the red Soviet Victory Banner was raised over the Reichstag in 1945. Several other national leaders are expected at the celebrations, including the presidents of Brazil and Serbia, and the prime minister of Slovakia. Putin has proposed a three-day ce...