ST. PETERSBURG, Russia: President Vladimir Putin offered Wednesday to help mediate an end to the conflict between Israel and Iran, suggesting Moscow could help negotiate a settlement that could allow Tehran to pursue a peaceful atomic program while assuaging Israeli security concerns.

Speaking to senior news leaders of international news agencies, Putin noted that “it’s a delicate issue,” but added that “in my view, a solution could be found.”

Khamenei has rejected US calls for surrender in the face of more Israeli strikes and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause “irreparable damage to them.”

Putin said he shared Moscow’s proposals with Iran, Israel and the United States.

“We are not imposing anything on anyone; we are simply talking about how we see a possible way out of the situation. But the decision, of course, is up to the political leadership of all these countries, primarily Iran and Israel,” he said.

Russia’s help with Iran’s nuclear power plant

Putin noted that Russia helped Iran finish construction of a nuclear power plant and is currently working on building two more reactors. “The work is underway, and our specialists are on site. That’s over 200 people. And we agreed with the Israeli leadership that security will be ensured,” Putin said.

Putin’s comments follow a mediation offer that he made in a call with US President Donald Trump last weekend.

Putin, meeting with senior news leaders of international news agencies, including The Associated Press, on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, emphasized that Russia has a trusting relationship with Iran and built its first nuclear power plant in Bushehr.

Russia has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East for decades, trying to navigate its warm relations with Israel even as it has developed strong economic and military ties with Iran, a policy that potentially opens opportunities for Moscow to play power broker to help end the confrontation.

Praise for Trump’s push for peace in Ukraine

Putin used Wednesday’s session to praise Trump’s push for peace in Ukraine, seconding the American leader’s repeated claims that the 3-year-old conflict wouldn’t have started if he had been in the White House in 2022.

“If Trump had been the president, the conflict indeed might not have erupted,” Putin said.

Russia has intensified its aerial campaign in Ukraine in recent months and stepped up ground attacks along the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line. Putin has effectively rejected Trump’s offer of an immediate 30-day ceasefire, making it conditional on a halt on Ukraine’s mobilization effort and a freeze on Western arms supplies.

He said he is open for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but repeated his claim that he lost his legitimacy after his term expired last year — the allegations rejected by Ukraine and its allies.

“We are ready for substantive talks on the principles of settlement,” Putin said, noting that the previous round of talks had paved the way for the exchange of prisoners and the bodies of fallen soldiers.

Asked by AP about Russia condemning Israel’s strikes on Iran even as Ukrainian civilians are killed in attacks by Moscow, Putin responded that Russia was targeting the country’s arms factories.

“The strikes were carried out against military industries, not residential quarters,” Putin said.

AP reporters have documented damage to residential buildings in Ukraine, most recently this week. On Wednesday, emergency workers pulled more bodies from the rubble of a nine-story Kyiv apartment building demolished by a Russian attack, raising the death toll from the strike on the capital to 28.

Putin vowed that Moscow will achieve its goal to “demilitarize” Ukraine.

“We will not allow Ukraine to have armed forces that would threaten the Russian Federation and its people,” he said. “And if we fail to reach a settlement, we will achieve our goals by military means.”

The Russian leader also dismissed Western warnings of Russia’s purported plans to attack NATO countries as “ravings,” noting the alliance’s military spending far exceed Moscow’s defense budget.

The Russian leader has used the annual forum to highlight Russia’s economic achievements and seek foreign investment. Western executives, who attended the event in the past, have avoided it after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, leaving it to business leaders from Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Putin met earlier with former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who now heads the New Development Bank created by the BRICS alliance of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. He is also set to have meetings with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and He’s also expected to confer with top officials from China, South Africa and Bahrain and the head of the OPEC group of oil-producing countries.

On Friday, he is set to attend a panel discussion at the forum, a venue he has used to make policy statements.