Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Photo: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov

i24 News – Russia denied a recent report that it had urged Iran to agree to a zero enrichment agreement with the United States on Sunday.

The Russian foreign ministry called the report, published on Axios on Saturday, “defamation.” According to the news site, Russian President Vladimir Putin had encouraged Iran for the regime to refrain from any enrichment, which US President Donald Trump has demanded.

The report, the foreign ministry said, “appears to be a new political defamation campaign aimed at exacerbating tensions around Iran’s nuclear program.”

“Invariably and repeatedly, we have emphasized the necessity of resolving the crisis concerning Iran’s nuclear program exclusively through political and diplomatic means, and expressed our willingness to help find mutually acceptable solutions,” the foreign ministry said.

This comes after a 12-day war in June between Israel and Iran that saw nuclear facilities in the Islamic Republic struck, as well as scientists and ballistic missile sites. Hundreds of top commanders were eliminated on the Iranian side, while Iranian ballistic missiles launched at Israel in response killed 30, nearly all of whom were civilians.