NewsPoliticsTop StoryWorld

Putin in Tehran for talks with leaders of Iran, Turkey

Putin in Tehran for talks with leaders of Iran, Turkey

Putin in Tehran for talks with leaders of Iran, Turkey

Newslooks- TEHRAN, Iran (AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Iran starting Tuesday is intended to deepen ties with regional heavyweights as part of Moscow’s challenge to the United States and Europe amid its grinding campaign in Ukraine.

FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, speaks to Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, back to a camera, on the sideline of the summit of Caspian Sea littoral states in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on June 29, 2022. Putin’s visit to Iran starting Tuesday, July 19, is intended to deepen ties with regional heavyweights as part of Moscow’s challenge to the United States and Europe amid its grinding campaign in Ukraine. (Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

In only his second trip abroad since Russian tanks rolled into its neighbor in February, Putin is scheduled to hold talks with Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the pressing issues facing the region, including the conflict in Syria and a U.N.-backed proposal to resume exports of Ukrainian grain to ease the global food crisis.

FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks to Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on the sideline of the summit of Caspian Sea littoral states in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on June 29, 2022. Putin’s visit to Iran starting Tuesday, July 19, is intended to deepen ties with regional heavyweights as part of Moscow’s challenge to the United States and Europe amid its grinding campaign in Ukraine. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

As the West heaps sanctions on Russia and the costly campaign drags on, Putin is seeking to bolster ties with Tehran, a fellow target of severe U.S. sanctions and a potential military and trade partner. In recent weeks, Russian officials visited an airfield in central Iran at least twice to review Tehran’s weapons-capable drones for possible use in Ukraine, the White House has alleged.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi pose for a photo prior to their talks at the Saadabad palace, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 19, 2022. (Sergei Savostyanov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

But perhaps most crucially, the Tehran trip offers Putin a chance for a high-stakes meeting with Erdogan, who has sought to help broker talks on a peaceful settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as well as help negotiations to unblock Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, is welcomed by his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi, center, during a welcoming ceremony at the Saadabad palace, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Turkey, a NATO member, has found itself opposite Russia in bloody conflicts in Azerbaijan, Libya and Syria. It has even sold lethal drones that Ukrainian forces have used to attack Russia. But Turkey hasn’t imposed sanctions on the Kremlin, making it a sorely needed partner for Moscow. Grappling with runaway inflation and a rapidly depreciating currency, Turkey also relies on the Russian market.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, is welcomed by his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi during a welcoming ceremony at the Saadabad palace, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The gathering has symbolic meaning for Putin’s domestic audience as well, showing off Russia’s international clout even as it grows increasingly isolated and plunges deeper into confrontation with the West. It comes just days after U.S. President Joe Biden’s visited Israel and Saudi Arabia — Tehran’s primary rivals.

In this picture released by the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, speaks during his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, second right, as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, sits at right, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 19, 2022. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

From Jerusalem and Jeddah, Biden urged Israel and Arab countries to push back on Russian, Chinese and Iranian influence that has expanded with the perception of America’s retreat from the region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during their talks at the Saadabad palace, in Tehran, Iran, Iran, Tuesday, July 19, 2022. (Sergei Savostyanov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

It was a tough sell. Israel maintains good relations with Putin, a necessity given Russian presence in Syria, Israel’s northeastern neighbor and frequent target of its airstrikes. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have declined to pump more oil beyond a plan approved by their energy alliance with Moscow.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan scratches his face as he listens to his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi during their joint press briefing at the Saadabad palace, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

But all the countries — despite their long-standing rivalries — could agree on drawing closer to counter Iran, which has rapidly advanced its nuclear program since former U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned Tehran’s atomic accord with world powers and reimposed crushing sanctions. Talks to restore the deal have hit a deadlock.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, second left, reviews an honor guard as he is accompanied by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, left, during a welcoming ceremony at the Saadabad palace, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Backed into a corner by the West and its regional rivals, the Iranian government is ramping up uranium enrichment, cracking down on dissent and grabbing headlines with optimistic, hard-line stances intended to keep the Iranian currency, the rial, from crashing. Without sanctions relief in sight, Iran’s tactical partnership with Russia has become one of survival, even as Moscow appears to be undercutting Tehran in the black market oil trade.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi listen to their countries’ national anthem during the welcoming ceremony at the Saadabad palace, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

“Iran is (the) center of dynamic diplomacy,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian wrote on Twitter, adding the meetings will “develop economic cooperation, focus on security of the region … and ensure food security.”

Fadahossein Maleki, a member of the Iranian parliament’s influential committee on national security and foreign policy, described Russia as Iran’s “most strategic partner” on Monday. His comments belied decades of animosity stemming from Russia’s occupation of Iran during World War II — and its refusal to leave afterward.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during their talks at the Saadabad palace, in Tehran, Iran, Iran, Tuesday, July 19, 2022. (Sergei Savostyanov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

In his fifth visit to Tehran, Putin will meet Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with whom he has a “trusting dialogue,” Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said. He will also hold talks with President Raisi on issues including Tehran’s nuclear deal, of which Russia is a key signatory. The leaders met in Moscow in January and again last month in Turkmenistan.

FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks to Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on the sideline of the summit of Caspian Sea littoral states in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on June 29, 2022. Putin’s visit to Iran starting Tuesday, July 19, is intended to deepen ties with regional heavyweights as part of Moscow’s challenge to the United States and Europe amid its grinding campaign in Ukraine. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

The focus of the talks among the three presidents will be the decade-old conflict in Syria, where Iran and Russia have backed President Bashar Assad’s government, while Turkey has supported armed opposition factions. Russia intervened in the conflict in 2015, pooling efforts with Iranian forces and using its air power to shore up Assad’s fledgling military.

Ushakov said the parties will discuss efforts to encourage a political settlement, while Erdogan is expected to take up Turkey’s threats of a new military offensive in northern Syria to drive away U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters from its borders. The operation is part of Turkey’s plan to create a safe zone along its border with Syria that would encourage the voluntary return of Syrian refugees.

FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, speaks to Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, back to a camera, on the sideline of the summit of Caspian Sea littoral states in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on June 29, 2022. Putin’s visit to Iran starting Tuesday, July 19, is intended to deepen ties with regional heavyweights as part of Moscow’s challenge to the United States and Europe amid its grinding campaign in Ukraine. (Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

In a meeting with Erdogan, Khamenei delivered a stern warning against the planned Turkish incursion.

“Any sort of military attack in northern Syria will definitely harm Turkey, Syria and the entire region, and will benefit terrorists,” Iran’s top leader said, stressing the need to “bring the issue to an end through talks.”

Iran and Turkey signed a raft of preliminary agreements covering investment, diplomacy, media and business, among other fields, and pledged to triple bilateral trade, to $30 billion. Raisi praised Erdogan’s visit as a “turning point” in their relations.

In his speech, Erdogan called for solidarity in the fight against Kurdish militant groups as well as a network led by a U.S.-based Muslim cleric whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating a failed coup in 2016.

“They are nuisances that disrupt the calm of the countries where they are present,” he said. “We need to continue to lead a struggle against them.”

Humanitarian issues in Syria have also come into focus since Russia used its veto power at the U.N. Security Council last week to force a restriction in aid deliveries to 4.1 million people in Syria’s rebel-held northwest after six months, instead of a year.

Talks to lift a Russian blockade and get Ukraine’s grain into global markets will also be on the agenda. Last week, U.N., Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish officials reached a tentative agreement on some aspects of a deal to ensure the export of 22 million tons of desperately needed grain and other agricultural products trapped in Ukraine’s Black Sea ports by the fighting.

Tuesday’s meeting between Putin and Erdogan could help clear the remaining hurdles, a major step toward alleviating a food crisis that has sent prices of vital commodities like wheat and barley soaring.

For more world news

Previous Article
Senate panel subpoenas federal prisons director to testify
Next Article
Sri Lanka’s political turmoil sows worries for recovery

How useful was this article?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this article.

Latest News

Menu