Iran is avoiding any steps that could lead to an escalation in Ukraine and is not helping any of the parties to the conflict, because it is confident that it must be stopped, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in an interview with La Repubblica newspaper, denying the sale of military equipment to Russia.

"We have various forms of cooperation with Russia, including in the sphere of defense, but we are not helping either side involved in the [Ukrainian] conflict because we are certain that it should be concluded. I think that currently, the problem is elsewhere - some Western countries, including the US, are manufacturing arms and trying to sell their products. We are trying to avoid any actions that may lead to an escalation. We are working on stopping this war," the Iranian top diplomat said commenting on remarks by US Presidential National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Iran’s plans to send drones to Russia.