ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin made the following comments at a plenary session of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday. Putin spoke in Russian.

President Vladimir Putin says he has secured Israel’s pledge to safeguard Russian personnel at Iran’s Russia-built nuclear power plant and that he has reached out to both sides to try to end the week-old war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said he was not seeking to be a mediator between Iran and Israel, and was only suggesting ideas for how the countries could resolve the escalating crisis. The Kremlin has spent much of the week positioning Moscow as a potential peacemaker after Israel launched strikes on Iran,