MOSCOW, July 29. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky resorts to any possible method to solicit European money and his recent statements about the threat to Ukraine posed by Iran have the same purpose, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik said on Wednesday.

"Zelensky uses it all for PR under the current circumstances. But such PR is completely transparent and monetizable," Miroshnik said in an interview with TASS. "The key point of any actions that Zelensky gets involved in is to get money for it, to get support for it."

"Moreover, his attempts to interpret any event end up in the same manner with statements of 'Let's give Kiev more money! And let's give Kiev more weapons!'" Miroshnik stated.

"They allege now that the Iranians will attack us, what should you, the European partners? (I'm speaking from Zelensky's point of view). More money for Kiev beyond any doubts!" the Russian diplomat emphasized.

On July 25, the Iranian foreign ministry said that Ukraine had struck an Iranian merchant ship in the Caspian Sea, leaving one crew member dead.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on July 26 that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi spoke over the phone to discuss the situation around Ukraine’s attack on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea.

The top Russian diplomat offered condolences over the death of an Iranian sailor while his Iranian counterpart "stressed the need to put a stop to the Kiev regime’s reckless actions.".