'Simply suggesting ideas': Putin denies trying to be Iran-Israel mediator

Russia's President Vladimir Putin - File Photo

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said he was not seeking to be a mediator between Iran and Israel, and was only suggesting ideas for how the countries could resolve the escalating crisis.

The Kremlin has spent much of the week positioning Moscow as a potential peacemaker after Israel launched strikes on Iran, which retaliated with missiles and drones.

But Western leaders have pushed back on a role for Putin and earlier this week Moscow said Israel had shown little interest in its overtures.

"We are by no means seeking to act as a mediator, we are simply suggesting ideas," Putin said at an economic forum in Saint Petersburg.

"If they turn out to be attractive to both sides, we will only be happy."

While Moscow has condemned Israel's strikes, Russia has not offered military help to its ally Iran and has downplayed its obligations under a sweeping strategic partnership agreement signed just months ago.

The foreign ministry on Thursday warned the United States against "military intervention" in the conflict, as it weighs joining Israel's strikes against Iran.

And pressed multiple times to comment on Israel's apparent threats to kill Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Putin said Friday: "I really hope that the things you mention remain at the level of rhetoric."

Putin spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian after Israel launched its strikes on Friday.

But the Kremlin said earlier this week that it saw a "reluctance, at least on the part of Israel, to resort to any mediation services or to embark on a peaceful path towards a settlement."

US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron have publicly pushed back at the idea of a mediation role for Putin.

"He actually offered to help mediate, I said: 'Do me a favor, mediate your own. Let's mediate Russia first, okay?'" Trump told reporters at the White House last week, referring to Russia's conflict with Ukraine.

"I said 'Vladimir, let's mediate Russia first, you can worry about this later.'"