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Trump may 'probably not' attend Putin's 'urgent' Iran summit

WION Web Team
Bedminster, New Jersey, United StatesUpdated: Aug 16, 2020, 06:21 AM IST
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FIle photo of US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photograph:(Reuters)

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On Friday, Putin called on the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany to convene on Iran to avoid an escalation of tensions in the Gulf

The US President Donald Trump is planning to sit out the emergency Iran summit that was proposed by the Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.

On Friday, Putin called on the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany to convene on Iran to avoid an escalation of tensions in the Gulf.

However, Trump, in his golf field news conference said, "I think we'll wait till after the election."

Labelling it is an "urgent issue", Putin called on to leaders of China, France, Britain, the United States, Germany and Iran to attend the summit to resolve the increasingly tense situations in Iran.

"Discussions at the UN Security Council over the Iranian issue are becoming increasingly tense," Putin said, adding that Moscow's ally Iran was a target of "groundless accusations."

Trump's "probably" status of the invitation came after the Security Council rejected a US resolution to extend an Iranian arms embargo, in a move with huge repercussions for the Iran nuclear deal. Out of 15 members of the Security Council, only two voted in favour of this.

Since Trump pulled out and slapped unilateral sanctions on Iran under a campaign of "maximum pressure," Tehran has since taken small but escalating steps away from compliance with the nuclear accord as it presses for sanctions relief.

European allies of the United States -- who, along with Russia and China, signed the deal with Iran -- have voiced support for extending the 13-year-long conventional arms embargo, saying an expiry threatens stability in the Middle East. 

However, the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani feels the US has "failed in this conspiracy with humiliation."

(With inputs from agencies)