Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Tehran on Tuesday for addresses with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Kremlin leader’s first trip outside the former Soviet Union since Moscow’s February 24 irruption of Ukraine.
In Tehran, Putin will also hold his first face- to- face meeting since the irruption with a NATO leader, Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan, to bandy a deal aimed at allowing the resumption of Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports as well as peace in Syria.
Putin’s trip, which comes just days after US President Joe Biden visited Israel and Saudi Arabia, sends a strong communication to the West about Moscow’s plans to forge near strategic ties with Iran, China and India in the face of the Western warrants.
“ The contact with Khamenei is veritably important, ” Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy counsel, told journalists in Moscow. “ A trusting dialogue has developed between them on the most important issues on the bilateral and transnational docket. ”
“ On utmost issues, our positions are close or identical. ”
Both sanctioned
For Iran, also chafing under Western profitable warrants and at loggerheads with the United States over Tehran’s nuclear programme and a range of other issues, Putin’s visit is timely.
Its pastoral leaders are keen to strengthen strategic relations with Russia in the face of an arising US- backed Gulf Arab- Israeli bloc that could cock the Middle East balance of power further down from Iran.
“ Considering the evolving geopolitical ties after the Ukraine war, Tehran tries to secure Moscow’s support in its battle with Washington and its indigenous abettors , ” said a elderly Iranian functionary, who asked not to be named.
inspired by high oil painting prices since the Ukraine war, Iran is laying that with Russia’s support it could press Washington to offer concessions for the reanimation of a 2015 nuclear deal.
Still, Russia’s increased cock towards Beijing in recent months has significantly reduced Iran’s crude exports to China a crucial source of income for Tehran since US President Donald Trump reimposed warrants in 2018.
In May, Reuters reported that Iran’s crude exports to China have fallen sprucely as Beijing favoured heavily blinked Russian barrels, leaving nearly 40 million barrels of Iranian oil painting stored on tankers at ocean in Asia and seeking buyers.
Ahead of Putin’s appearance, the National Iranian Oil Company( NIOC) and Russian gas patron Gazprom(GAZP.MM) inked a memorandum of understanding worth around$ 40 billion.
Syria, Ukraine
High on the docket in Tuesday’s trilateral addresses that will also include Turkey will be sweats to reduce violence in Syria, where Erdogan has hovered to launch further military operations to extend 30- km( 20- afar) deep “ safe zones ” along the border. Moscow and Tehran both oppose any similar action by Turkey.
“ Maintaining the territorial integrity of Syria is veritably important, and any military attack in northern Syria will surely harm Turkey, Syria and the entire region, and benefit terrorists, ” Khamenei told Erdogan.
Any Turkish operation in Syria would attack the Kurdish YPG host, a crucial part of the US- backed Syrian Popular Forces( SDF) that controls large corridor of north Syria and is regarded by Washington as an important supporter against Islamic State.
A elderly Turkish functionary said Turkey’s planned operation would be bandied in Tehran, as would reports that Russia and the Kurds were acting together in some areas of Syria.
Russia and Iran are Syrian President Bashar al- Assad’s strongest backers, while Turkey supportsanti-Assad mutineers.
Putin, who turns 70 this time, has made many foreign passages in recent times due to the Covid epidemic and also the Ukraine extremity. His last trip beyond the former Soviet Union was to China in February.
His bilateral addresses with Erdogan will concentrate on a plan to get Ukrainian grain exports moving again.
Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations are anticipated to subscribe a deal latterly this week aimed at continuing the shipping of grain from Ukraine across the Black Sea.
