Washington/Tehran, July 28 (dpa/GNA) – Following a deadly attack on an Iranian cargo ship, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has telephoned his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi to explain the situation.
Kiev’s aim is to avoid any unnecessary escalation, Sybiha said in a post on X on Tuesday. He made the comments following his visit, alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump. Ukraine’s attacks are solely intended to defend itself against Russian aggression, Sybiha explained. The minister acknowledged that Ukraine had attacked a civilian vessel in the Caspian Sea, killing an Iranian national in the process.
Sybiha called on Araghchi to refrain from escalating the situation and to cease all support for Russia’s war of aggression. “This war is illegal, and it must end,” he said.
Araghchi had strongly condemned the attack on Saturday and threatened retaliation. He accused Zelensky, who had reported the attack, of violating international law, and also addressed the European Union and Russia in this regard.
According to the Foreign Ministry in Moscow, the ship was carrying civilian cargo from the Russian port of Astrakhan to Iran. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Kiev of terrorism and of jeopardizing security in the Caspian region.
Russia has been waging a destructive war of aggression against Ukraine for more than four years, using the Caspian Sea region for attacks.
The Ukrainian president, for his part, has long complained that Iran is supporting Russia in the war for example, with drone technology.
With regard to the war in the Middle East, Zelensky in turn accused Russia of helping Iran. Moscow is “intensively” supplying the Iranian military with satellite imagery of the Gulf region, Zelensky said. He had also offered the states in the Middle East assistance from Ukrainian drone experts in repelling Iranian attacks.
GNA