MANAMA /Bahrain/, October 18. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump’s approach to the Iranian leadership in no way helps the region reach peace agreements, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"This is absolutely the right thing to do, and I fully and unreservedly support it, so that the situation returns to normal and freedom of navigation is fully guaranteed, just as it was before February 28. Until February 28, there was full freedom, with no hint of any payments, and the situation was entirely normal, and, of course, we cannot fail to take into account how all of this happened," he told a news conference after the 9th round of the Russia-Gulf Cooperation Council Strategic Dialogue. "And my friend also said: for an end to hostilities, for mutual respect based on recognition of each other’s sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, and the peaceful resolution of all disputes rather than through the use of armed force. I think was essentially about what the United States and Israel have done."

"If anyone can tell me that the actions listed here are not those of the United States and Israel, I think it would be very difficult to argue against that. Especially given the fundamental principle of resolving conflicts peacefully, without the use of force and without interfering in internal affairs," he noted. "When President Trump speaks openly about this: We have knocked out Iran’s entire leadership, they appointed a second leadership, and we knocked them out too, now there’s a third leadership, but we don’t really understand who’s doing what or making decisions there. This is probably not the kind of an approach that can help a distant region seek those very agreements based on mutual respect and international law. We are only in favor of.".