Ukraine Crisis: Iran Urges All Sides to Exercise Restraint

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Tuesday that Iran is closely following the developments in Ukraine.

The Islamic Republic of Iran calls on all parties to exercise restraint and believes that any action that could further escalate the tensions should be avoided, he stated.

The spokesman also urged all sides to opt for resolving issues via dialogue and peaceful means.   

He further said that the meddling and provocative measures of NATO, led by the US, “have unfortunately made conditions in the region more complicated”.

On Monday, the president of Russia signed a decree recognizing breakaway Lugansk and Donetsk regions in eastern Ukraine as independent republics, telling Russia’s defense ministry to deploy troops into the two regions.

Vladimir Putin made the announcement live on television after an emotional address in which he referred to eastern Ukraine as “ancient Russian lands” and said it was “managed by foreign powers”.

"I deem it necessary to make a decision that should have been made a long time ago - to immediately recognize the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Lugansk People's Republic," he said.

Announcing his recognition, Putin signed treaties on friendship, cooperation and mutual aid with Donetsk leader Denis Pushilin and Lugansk leader Leonid Pasechnik.

Putin also told Russia's defense ministry to deploy troops into the two regions to "keep the peace" in a decree issued shortly after announcing his recognition of their independence from Ukraine.

The decree said Russia now had the right to build military bases in the breakaway regions and that troops' mission would be to uphold the peace.

In a lengthy televised address, Putin described Ukraine as an integral part of Russia's history and said he was confident the Russian people would support his decision.

He also vented his grievances against the West, saying the recognition was a direct result of the failure of the 2014 Minsk agreements designed to put an end to a protracted fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia forces.

The Russian leader took a swipe as Western powers which support Ukraine, saying, “they are not interested in peaceful solutions – they want to start a blitzkrieg”.

“Every day they are amassing troops in the Donbas.”

Putin also accused Ukraine of “extreme nationalism,” and “Russophobia”, saying Kiev was sending saboteurs to target Russian infrastructure and attempting to “drag foreign states into conflict with our country.”

He denounced Ukraine's ambitions to join NATO as an “immediate threat of attack” against his country.

Earlier, Ukraine rejected as “fake news” claim that Russia had killed five “saboteurs” attempting to cross into the country.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg accused Russia of continuing to fuel the conflict in eastern Ukraine and “trying to stage a pretext” for an invasion.