During an exclusive interview with Press TV, Dedov spoke about a host of issues, including sanctions targeting the two countries as well as Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Asked about US attempts to isolate Iran and Russia, he quipped: “I am afraid they are too sure of themselves.”
“You are right that they tried to isolate Russia, [and] they tried to isolate Iran,” he said, adding, however, “the task is impossible.”
It is not possible to isolate Russia or Iran, and “we can see it,” he continued.
The Russian envoy further explained that Russia’s trade exchanges with India and China have grown significantly despite the US-led sanctions, adding that his country’s trade with Iran is also growing at a good pace.
The United States and its European allies have been spearheading tough economic sanctions against Russia ever since it launched what it calls a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.
Iran has also been hit by unilateral sanctions imposed by Washington after former president Donald Trump declared an unprovoked withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran deal, in May 2018.
Russia and Iran – the first and second most-sanctioned countries in the world – have been cooperating to neutralize the sanctions by finding alternative ways to trade with other nations.
The Russian diplomat also said Moscow’s ongoing special operation in Ukraine is not in fact an operation against Kiev, but “against forces of the West which try to impose their will over the whole territory of the world.”
Dedov added that the West tries to portray various events related to the conflict in its own favor and interpret that “they are right and we are wrong.”
“But we try to circulate the objective picture of the events, what is really happening there and who is responsible for this,” he stated.
The envoy further hailed “wide understanding” in Iran vis-à-vis the operation in Ukraine and also the threat of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) eastward expansion.
“We also appreciate that in Iran there is wide understanding that one of the reasons of the situation is the uncontrollable growth of NATO and its movement towards the East, just embracing one country after another,” he noted.
The ambassador emphasized that NATO expansion would constitute “damage and a threat to our security as well.”
Russia began the military operation against its neighbor last February, saying the offensive was aimed at defending Ukraine’s pro-Russian population in Donetsk and Luhansk, another eastern Ukrainian region, against persecution by the Kiev regime.
Several Ukrainian regions have ever since voted in separate referendums in favor of joining the Russian Federation.
Kiev and its Western allies, however, accuse Moscow of seizing those territories by force.
The West has also been pumping Ukraine full of state-of-the-art weaponry and other military equipment despite Russia’s repeated warnings that such a measure would only prolong the war and torpedo prospects of peace between the two countries.
Speaking at a gathering of war correspondents at the Kremlin on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the goals laid out at the onset of the war were “essential” for Moscow, and while some parts were subject to change based on the developing situation, they still remained basically the same.
Putin said demilitarization of Ukraine is happening “gradually and methodically,” with Kiev’s troops now entirely reliant on Western weapons, equipment, and ammunition, while they are unable to produce anything locally.
