TE24 International Desk:
TEHRAN – Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Iran starting Tuesday is aimed at deepening ties with regional heavyweights as part of Moscow’s challenge to the United States and Europe amid its grinding campaign in Ukraine.
In his second foreign trip since Russian tanks rolled into his neighborhood in February, Putin is scheduled to discuss pressing issues facing the region, including the Syrian conflict, with Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. UN-backed proposal to resume Ukraine’s grain exports to ease global food crisis
While the West has imposed sanctions on Russia and waged a costly campaign, Putin is seeking to strengthen ties with Tehran, a fellow target of severe U.S. sanctions and a potential military and trade partner. In recent weeks, Russian officials have visited an airbase in central Iran at least twice to review Tehran’s weapons-capable drones for possible use in Ukraine, the White House alleged.
But perhaps most importantly, Tehran offers Putin an opportunity for a high-level meeting with Erdogan, who wants to help broker talks on a peaceful settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as well as help negotiate an end to the blockade of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. . Turkey, a
Azerbaijan, a NATO member, has found itself at odds with Russia in bloody conflicts in Libya and Syria. However, Turkey has not imposed sanctions on the Kremlin and has become an attractive partner for Moscow. Turkey, which suffers from runaway inflation and a rapidly depreciating currency, also depends on the Russian market.
The conference is also symbolic to Putin’s domestic audience, as it shows Russia’s international influence, even as Putin is increasingly isolated and deeply embroiled in conflict with the West.
The Iranian government, cornered by Western nations and regional rivals, finds itself in an optimistic and tough position to promote uranium enrichment, crack down on dissent and prevent the collapse of Iran’s currency, the rial. I’m making.
Iran’s strategic partnership with Russia has become a survival partnership, although Moscow appears to be below Tehran in the black market oil trade, with no visible easing of sanctions. “Iran is a dynamic diplomatic hub,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabadrahian wrote on Twitter.
Fadahossein Marekhi, a member of Iran’s influential Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy, described Russia as Iran’s “most strategic partner” on Monday. His comments belied decades of hostility over Iran’s occupation during World War II and subsequent refusal to leave.
