Putin urging Iran to stick to nuclear deal

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says he has been urging Iran's leadership to stick to the nuclear deal, despite the U.S. withdrawal from it.

Putin, who was meeting Austria's president in Russia's Sochi, told reporters today the 2015 nuclear accords "are coming apart" but he has been advising Iranian leaders to adhere to them no matter what the United States does.

The Russian leader said after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran deal with world powers, "Europe can't do anything to save it" and that if Iran begins to backtrack on its commitments, "everyone will end up blaming it all on Iran."

Putin said Russia was glad to help mediate the deal and would be willing to help in the future, but he added Russia "is not a rescue squad" and cannot fix "everything that doesn't depend on us entirely."