Russian President Vladimir Putin will be in Iran on Tuesday to meet with with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This is first trip by the Kremlin boss outside the former Soviet Union since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Putin will also meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Grain exports, Syria and Ukraine war will be the topics for discussion in Tehran, a Turkish official said.
Since war broke out in Ukraine, the former KGB officer has reduced his international visits to former Soviet states.
According to the BBC, In June, Putin made his first international trip since February when he visited Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, both former members of the USSR now led by authoritarian rulers and Russian allies.
Tuesday’s visit will give Putin the opportunity to strengthen ties with Iran, one of Moscow’s few remaining international allies and a fellow target of Western economic sanctions.
According to US officials, Tehran is planning to supply Russia with hundreds of drones for its Ukraine campaign.
“The contact with Khamenei is very important,” Yuri Ushakov, Mr Putin’s top foreign policy adviser, told a media briefing on Monday. “A trusting dialogue has developed between them on the most important issues on the bilateral and international agenda.”
“On most issues, our positions are close or identical.”
“We need a strong ally and Moscow is a superpower,” said a senior Iranian official, on the condition of anonymity.
According to News 18, emboldened by high oil prices, Tehran is betting that with Russia’s support it could pressure Washington to offer concessions for the revival of a 2015 nuclear deal.
Putin’s meeting with Turkish President Erdogan will aim to put a plan in place to move Ukrainian grain exports again. Also, Turkey’s threat to launch fresh military operations in Syria to extend 30-km (20-mile) deep “safe zones” along the border will be discussed.
Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations are expected to sign a deal later this week aimed at resuming the shipping of grain from Ukraine from the Black Sea port of Sevastopol.
