ISLAMABAD: Descr­ibing Russian position on the conflict in Ukraine as a confrontation with the collective West, Amb­assador Albert P. Khorev on Tue­sday called the invasion of Iran illegal and condemned the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a violation of international law.

His remarks came during a briefing for journalists on the Russia’s perspective on the Ukraine conflict.

While emphasising that Russia remained open to a negotiated settlement, Ambassador Khorev insisted that any agreement must address the root causes of the Ukraine conflict, including Nato’s eastward expansion and Kyiv’s alleged discrimination against the Russian-speaking population.

He noted that during the direct Russia-Ukraine talks last year, the Ukrainian side provided a list of 339 children who lost contact with families. Russia started working to reunite them with their relatives, and managed to repatriate 13 of them to Ukraine, he said, adding the process was mutual.

Regarding Iran, the ambassador condemned the escalation in the Middle East due to the joint aggression by the US and Israel against the country despite the fact that the IAEA found no evidence of the aggressors’ allegation that Iran was building a nuclear bomb.

Ambassador Khorev strongly condemned the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as attacks on civilian targets, including a strike on a school in Minab. He said the actions constituted serious violations of international law. He called for political and diplomatic solutions to the conflict, based on “respect for sovereignty” of all states in the region.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2026