KYIV: Ukraine and Iran’s foreign ministers spoke by phone on Tuesday, Kyiv said, adding it wants to avoid an “escalation” after a Ukrainian attack on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea.
Andriy Sybiga wrote on his X account that he had a “frank conversation” with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.
“Diplomacy is about direct conversation, even when it’s difficult. I stressed that our goal is to avoid unnecessary escalation.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday said Kyiv had carried out long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea against vessels carrying military cargo involving Iran.
Sybiga said he reiterated to Araghchi that “all of Ukraine’s actions are aimed solely at defending our country from Russian aggression and never intended to target civilian vessels or people”.
On Iran’s statement about the death of one of its citizens and the vessel in question, Sybiga said Russia was “the root cause of all incidents, and it is Russia who bears full responsibility for all provocations and casualties”.
“I emphasised the necessity to refrain from any escalatory steps, as well as to end any support for Russia’s war against Ukraine,” he added.
Araghchi, in his own X post, said Sybiga had assured him the attack was “unintentional and Ukraine seeks no escalation”.
He added that “Iran does not seek escalation either, but made clear any attack on our citizens or interests is unacceptable. There must be restitution for losses.”
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy confirmed that it was the first official contact between Sybiga, who has been in post since September 2024, and Araghchi.
Relations between Kyiv and Tehran are strained. Iran, which is Russia’s main ally in the Middle East, notably supplied Shahed drone technology to Moscow at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
For its part, Kyiv said it had provided support on counter-drone efforts to Gulf countries targeted by Iranian retaliations after Israel and the United States attacked Iran at the end of February.
