

By John Helmer, Moscow
@bears_with
It was just before high noon in Moscow on Thursday, June 19, when President Vladimir Putin initiated his telephone call to President Xi Jinping of China. A read-out by Putin’s foreign policy assistant, Yury Ushakov, followed almost immediately.
Xi did not authorize his summary for twenty-four hours until the Chinese official media organ, Global Times, published an editorial titled “The ‘four-point proposal’ injects stabilizing force into the crisis in the Middle East”. Another official version from Beijing, delayed for nine hours, can be read here.
In between Putin’s read-out and Xi’s editorial, the Russian General Staff leaked its assessment that the US, Israel and their allies are demonstrating in the Iran war, as they have already demonstrated in the Ukraine war, that negotiations for a ceasefire, a truce, or a peace agreement are pointless now.
Pretending this isn’t so is the Kremlin consensus for the time being. According to Xinhua, repeating the pretence in public is also the Bejing consensus.
Before he called Xi, Putin told the Xinhua press agency and other reporters: “we are ready and substantively guide the [Ukraine war] negotiations on the principles of settlement…We are in contact, our negotiation groups are in contact with each other. Only just now [Kremlin negotiator Vladimir] Medinsky asked — he says that only today he was talking to his counterparties from Kiev. In principle, they agree to meet after June 22.”
Unspoken in public for the time being is the discussion among Russian political and military leaders on what Putin’s surprise statement revoking the terms of the Russian pact with Iran means to the remaining treaty allies, China and North Korea. “With regard to the Strategic Treaty,” Putin has announced for the “Treaty on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation” he signed on January 17, 2025 — “there are no articles related to the defence sphere.”
Moscow knows this is false.
According to a well-informed source, “the Iranians have assured Putin through the security people that they are able to hold out. Putin is not calling out Trump’s lies because there will be no burning of bridges with Trump for as long as possible. Nothing will be gained from this. Calling Putin out on Israel is something everyone is avoiding here and might be the most sensitive nerve. So it’s best avoided.”
Putin revealed at his meeting with international news agencies after midnight on June 18 that some time earlier, he had discussed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the Israeli plan of attack on Iran’s nuclear reactors and nuclear fuel plants. Putin did not say he had told Netanyahu not to attack. Instead, Putin told the press, “more than 200” Russians are working at the Bushehr reactor in southern Iran, and that with Netanyahu “we have agreed with the leadership of Israel which will ensure their security.”
The full Russian text of Putin’s remarks at the press conference was delayed in publication by the Kremlin for twelve hours. The official English version of what the President said has not been fully disclosed on the Kremlin website after twenty-fours.
The Xinhua news agency, which attended the presser, reported what had been said after six hours of delay. But the Chinese report has omitted to record Putin’s reactor targeting deal with Netanyahu.

Source: https://english.news.cn/20250619/3c5c62307cf24d429f191017eb2f8463/c.html
The Reuters news agency, which also asked questions at the presser, published its report of Putin’s statements three hours after they were made.
According to the Reuters report, “asked if Russia was ready to provide Iran with modern weapons to defend itself against Israeli strikes, Putin said a strategic partnership treaty signed with Tehran in January did not envisage military cooperation and that Iran had not made any formal request for assistance.”

Source: https://tass.com/politics/1975565
Putin is seated at the top centre of the table with the Tass chief on his right, the Xinhua chief on his left.
According to the Kremlin’s version of what Putin said translated unofficially into English, Putin was asked by Karim Talbi, the Agence France Presse (AFP) representative at the meeting: “There is a Strategic Partnership Agreement between Russia and Iran. It does not provide for the protection of Iran from the outside Russia, but still there is a question of weapons. Given the severity of this situation, are you ready to provide new weapons to Iran so they can defend themselves from Israeli strikes?”
Putin replied: “You know, we once offered our Iranian friends to work in the field of air defence systems. The partners did not show much interest at that time, that’s all. With regard to the Strategic Treaty, about the partnership you mentioned, there are no articles related to the defence sphere. That’s the second point. Third, our Iranian friends don’t ask for that. So there’s almost nothing to discuss.”
The official Kremlin version in English has not yet been published. In AFP’s published record, Talbi failed to report Putin’s reference to the Russia-Iran pact.

Source: https://x.com/AFP/status/1935461687810756887
The Russia-Iran pact was signed on January 17, 2025 in three languages – Russian, Farsi and English. Click to read this for detailed analysis.
In the official Iranian version of the treaty in English, Articles 4, 5, and 6 set out defence provisions. “[1] In order to enhance national security and confront common threats, the intelligence and security agencies of the Contracting Parties shall exchange information and experience and increase the level of their cooperation.[2] The intelligence and security agencies of the Contracting Parties shall cooperate within the framework of separate agreements.”
Putin, who signed the pact with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, committed his officials to signing side agreements in secret. Article 5 (1) says: “In order to develop military cooperation between their relevant agencies, the Contracting Parties shall conduct the preparation and implementation of respective agreements within the Working Group on Military Cooperation.” Article 5 (4) amplifies: “The Contracting Parties shall consult and cooperate in countering common military and security threats of a bilateral and regional nature.” Article 6 (1) adds: “Within the framework of a comprehensive, long-term and strategic partnership, the Contracting Parties shall confirm their commitment to develop military-technical cooperation based on respective agreements between them taking into account mutual interests and their international obligations and shall consider such cooperation as an important component in maintaining regional and global security.”
Putin’s statement to AFP does not deny these elements of the treaty; he revokes them.

Source: https://president.ir/en/156874
With Iran now under attack from Israel, the US and NATO allies, Russian sources concede that Putin’s meaning appears to the Iranians and to other Russian allies, including the Chinese, to violate Article 3 (4) which Putin had signed. “In the event that either Contracting Party is subject to aggression, the other Contracting Party shall not provide any military or other assistance to the aggressor which would contribute to the continued aggression, and shall help to ensure that the differences that have arisen are settled on the basis of the United Nations Charter and other applicable rules of international law.”
If Putin’s statements on Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu in the press conference may be interpreted as Article 3(4) “assistance to the aggressor”, Moscow sources say they wish to avoid discussing in public what Putin has said:
After June 13, when Putin telephoned Pezeshkian and Netanyahu, the Russian President delayed speaking to Xi for six days; he delayed talking to Xi for five days after he had called Trump on June 14.
In the read-out of the Putin-Xi conversation, Ushakov intimates there has been friction with the Chinese causing the delay and Russian defensiveness over acknowledging this. There had been no delay, Ushakov claimed, because “the phone call took place in keeping with the mutual agreement of the two sides.” That the Chinese had been pressing to know what Putin has been deciding for a week, Ushakov said the “primary focus [was] on the escalation in the Middle East, which is quite logical in the current environment.”
If Xi had asked Putin the same questions which Reuters and AFP had asked him earlier about the US-Israeli war goal of regime change by killing the Iranian leadership, Ushakov did not want to say. Instead, he claimed the two “adopted a position of principle in their belief that the current situation and matters relating to the Iranian nuclear programme cannot be resolved by force, while a solution can only be achieved by political and diplomatic means.”
Did Xi ask Putin to clarify his understanding of the January treaty with Iran, and of the military and intelligence “cooperation” (the Treaty requirement) which Russia is providing the Iranians at the moment?
Putin isn’t acknowledging the obviousness of the issue, nor are he and Xi admitting what they told each other. Instead, according to Ushakov, Putin “informed his colleague about his latest international contacts with a focus on his telephone conversations with the key actors in the context of the confrontation between Israel and Iran. The Russian leader reaffirmed Russia’s readiness to offer its good offices, if necessary. The Chinese leader expressed support for this mediation effort, saying that he believed it could promote de-escalation amid the extreme tension we are witnessing today. In view of this increasingly challenging environment, the two leaders agreed to instruct their respective teams in the relevant agencies and services of the two countries to work closely together in the coming days by sharing insights and perspectives.”
This means Putin has delegated to the Defense Ministry, General Staff, the intelligence services, and the Foreign Ministry the job of “cooperation” with the Chinese which he also says the Iranians haven’t requested and which isn’t required by the treaty if they do.
This may be a smoke screen for the role in the fighting which the Chinese naval squadron is playing since it sailed into the Gulf last month. Coordination of battlefield intelligence between the Chinese, Russian and Iranian navies has been practiced and tested for several years. In the Sea of Oman and the Persian Gulf, the three militaries were exercising this coordination together in March. Article 4 of the January treaty requires it now – unless Putin’s press statement reveals that he has stopped it.

Source: https://www.newsweek.com/china-news-navy-ships-visit-persian-gulf-us-iran-tensions-2068922
The destroyer Baotou and its escorts were in port in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in May. No open source has been found to locate the squadron’s location since June 13. US media are reporting that US and British warships have left port at Bahrain and are sailing south to exit the Strait of Hormuz before the Iranians close the waters by mining them.
The Ushakov summary, Moscow sources note, “reveals more by what it doesn’t say the two leaders discussed.” There is no condemnation of the Israeli decapitation attacks in Iran; no discussion of what trust Xi and Putin continue to place in Trump, if any; no answer from Putin on the terms Pezeshkian told Putin to communicate to Trump — if the Iranian leadership continues to trust Putin.
In a further sign of defensiveness with Xi, Ushakov reports that Putin has improved on his unusually cold birthday greeting to Xi — compared to the one he conveyed by telephone to Trump the day before. Ushakov now says Putin was effusive with Xi in Oriental fashion: “our President warmly congratulated his Chinese counterpart and friend on the occasion of his recent birthday. As is well known, Xi Jinping turned 72 on June 15. In keeping with Chinese tradition, our President wished his friend longevity as enduring as the Southern Mountains and happiness as immense as the East Sea…The conversation lasted approximately an hour, and the leaders bid each other farewell in a very warm and friendly manner.”
The Xi read-out turns the Sino-Russian discoordination into a “four point proposal“: “The coordination of positions between the Chinese and Russian leaders not only reflects the depth of strategic cooperation between the two countries, but also sends a clear message to the international community: a call to de-escalate tensions and safeguard regional peace…” Not quite so coordinated — Xi has criticized the US “as a major power with special influence over Israel, the US has not played a constructive role.” In Ushakov’s version, Putin says nothing at all about the US role against Iran.
“So what you see is obvious,” says a well-informed Moscow source. “This is not a Sino-Russian alignment but a US-Russian alignment with the Chinese claiming to join the troika. The message to Trump is very clear — we [Putin] want to make deal; we want sanctions lifted; we want our airline flights and Boeings back; we are ready for compromises. Look what we have done! We have been good boys, haven’t we, in Syria? We have made no new troubles in Libya. We have not made trouble in Venezuela. We are only focused on fighting in our front yard. We accept that you [Trump] are the hegemon. We’ll complain about it, but we won’t fight to make you weaker. Your strength, dear Uncle Sam, is our economic survival. It’s fine that you rape a few small boys every once in a while, but we are still being good boys, aren’t we? This is the reality. And the main media are saying this now — Beijing has abandoned Teheran. Moscow has abandoned Teheran. I add that Teheran has abandoned Iran with too little and too late, so what’s left to fight? For us, it’s Ukraine.”
Several hours after Putin and Xi plumbed what their spokesmen claim to be “the depth of [their] strategic cooperation”, the Russian General Staff leaked its version of the obvious. At 23:14 of June 19 Boris Rozhin, well-known military blogger, was authorized to issue this announcement, camouflaged by reference to the Iranian political figure and ranking general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Mohsen Rezaee:

“They said that if we negotiate, there will be no war. Negotiations were conducted, and the war began. Now, if we conclude a truce, in two months Israel will attack again – IRGC General Rezaee @parstodayrussian How familiar. It's about the Minsk Agreement and the negotiations in Istanbul.” Source: https://t.me/boris_rozhin/169511

The original Iranian news agency report was posted a few minutes earlier. Mohsen, the Iranian source reported in Russian from a longer televised speech, had said: “A black day awaits Netanyahu and the Israeli army. We are gradually increasing the wave of our strikes to allow people to escape. We urge the Israeli population to leave the Territory as soon as possible and escape. We are gradually increasing the wave of our strikes to allow people to escape. We call on the Israeli population to leave as soon as possible.…We have used only 30% of our current capabilities and only 5% of the total potential. Netanyahu told the United States: either help me or declare a truce. Why don't you run away? Run away already, because we're deliberately stalling for time so that you can escape. New types of weapons will be introduced in the coming days. They said that if we negotiate, there will be no war. Negotiations were conducted, and the war began. Now, if we conclude a truce, Israel will attack again in two months. The enemy is in a weak position right now. If there is a truce, he will strengthen and attack again.”
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