�� Ambassador Andrei Kelin's interview with CNBC presenter Steve Sedgwick (13 March 2026)

Key talking points:

• The shelling of Iran must stop and negotiations must resume. This is an illegal war. It happened in the middle of negotiations [...] I cannot understand why everyone is blaming Iran and forgetting who originated the crisis. The crisis began with aggression against Iran by Israel and the US.

• The UK is leading, or at least pretending to lead, a coalition of the willing whose main objective is to destroy Russia or diminish its capabilities [...] Everything is targeted against Russia. The UK is very belligerent in that sense [...] I have never heard the UK government say anything about a peaceful settlement [of the Ukraine crisis] or the necessity of a diplomatic outcome.

• We very much support elections in Ukraine. They should take place because Zelensky has exceeded his term by nearly two years. We need someone who could sign a comprehensive [peace] agreement, and this person must be legitimate and elected by the Ukrainian people.

• We need an agreement that states that security in Europe is indivisible and equal for all. This will guarantee security not only for Ukraine, but also for Russia and other European countries.

• The West has been trying to so suffocate and strangle Russia's economy [with sanctions]. It did not happen. We have reoriented our trade and economic efforts to the East. In fact, the sanctions did not force us to change our political goals. We are still following them.

• Russia stands for a multipolar world [...] The point is that we need to establish good-neighbourly relations and normal trade, economic and humanitarian relations among all countries in the world.

Watch the interview on our YouTube channel