Moscow, April 8 Welcoming the ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran, Russia said on Wednesday that it supports the decision not to strike civilian facilities or the economic infrastructure in the Islamic Republic.
The Kremlin's reaction hours after the ceasefire announcement also said it considers the development as “very important.”
“In light of yesterday's rather harsh statements from various sides, which caused significant reactions around the world, we certainly welcome this news of a ceasefire and support the decision not to move further along the path of armed escalation… especially the decision not to strike civilian facilities or Iran’s economic infrastructure,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in his conference call with reporters.
“We consider this very important,” Peskov said.
The US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire after nearly six weeks of military hostilities. US President Donald Trump made the dramatic announcement on Truth Social on Tuesday evening (US time) 90 minutes before his deadline to wipe out the civilization was to end.
In a related development, a top Russian analyst claimed that he feared that under the guise of peace talks in Islamabad, the US could deploy its massive forces for a ground operation against Iran.
Speaking during a live show of the main public broadcaster Channel 1 TV’s “Vremya Pokazhet” (Time Will Tell), analyst Andrei Klintsevich reminded that the US and Israel had attacked Iran twice under the cover of negotiations.
“This could be the third such incident. The US needs two weeks to bring and deploy forces in the region for the ground operations,” he said, and added that he believes that instead of Kharg Island - the main oil export hub of Iran, the US will take control of nearby Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.
“Iran has the capacity to obliterate US troops landing on the Kharg Island but will have a rare chance to knock out American troops from Bushehr NPP with the use of kinetic firepower,” Klintsevich explained.
Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistan said it has invited delegations from both the US and Iran to Islamabad on April 10 for face-to-face talks aimed at reaching a conclusive agreement “to settle all disputes.”
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif later said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has confirmed Tehran's participation in Pakistan-facilitated peace talks with the US in Islamabad.
The US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.