Vladimir Putin: "“truce proved unstable and all too fragile”"

At a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had welcomed the US-Iran ceasefire reached earlier this year but that the arrangement had not held, according to reports. His remark preceded a planned meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who said Iran would immediately return to the June memorandum of understanding if Washington also honored its commitments. That pact called for a ceasefire, Iranian mine clearance and safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, and US sanctions relief and an end to its naval blockade. The deal quickly collapsed, and the two sides exchanged fire over the weekend. Britain also reported two shipping incidents near the strait, including a tanker struck by projectiles.