Russian president Vladimir Putin is in Tehran to attend a trilateral summit on Syria. Putin visited Iranian supreme leader before the summit.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, has noted to the Russian President that NATO, the destructive beast, would have finally begun the battle in Ukraine if Russia hadn’t. Khamenei made the remarks in a momentous talk with Vladimir Putin in Tehran.
The Supreme Leader also asserted that the West opposes a powerful and independent power in Moscow. “War is a violent issue and the Iran is in never happy that civilians get caught up in it, but concerning Ukraine, had you not taken the initiative, the other side would have taken the initiative and caused the war,” Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated.
If the path were clear, NATO would have no boundaries, Khamenei said. If it wasn’t blocked in Ukrainian soils, it would use Crimea as justification to conduct the same conflict.
Vladimir Putin described the war deaths as a great sorrow, but he attributed a Russian “response” to the Western policies. According to the Russian president, “Some Western countries had said we’re against Ukraine’s membership in NATO but we agreed to it under pressure from the US, which shows their lack of independence.”
According to reports, the two sides also talked about limiting the use of the US dollar in trade transactions. Western sanctions have guided Tehran and Moscow into seeking ways to foil economic pressures. The discussions’ major focus areas also included Syria, Israel, and the South Caucasus.
Russian president had also a meeting with his Iranian counterpart yesterday. The meeting preceded a trilateral conference on Syria, along with Turkish President, who had already met with Iranian authorities. The conference follows another one of the same nature which was started in Astana back in 2017.
Vladimir Putin; A Serious Ally
A footage of The Iranian leader shaking cordial hands with Vladimir Putin soon went viral in media and social platforms. According to the observers, it was an uncommon welcome by the Supreme Leader after the pandemic. The occurrence had only one precedent in three years; during a visit by the Syrian president in May, Khamenei made a warm handshake with Bashar al-Assad.
In a video of their meeting, the two presidents can be heard complimenting the development of their bilateral ties and regional collaboration. “In terms of international security, we will increase our cooperation,” Putin promised. He continued by saying that the stability of Syria is greatly influenced by the two nations.
Putin has visited Tehran five times, and this is one of his rare trips following the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine. Starting his visits to Iran in 2007, Vladimir Putin made three others in the latter half of 2010s.
Days have passed since US President’s trip to the area ended. Joe Biden traveled to Jeddah, Tel Aviv, and the West Bank, while he also met other Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia.
The talks follow the signing of a $40 billion Memorandum of Understanding on energy development with Tehran by Putin’s envoy. The MoU, which enables the establishment of the Kish and North Pars gas resources besides a total of oil reserves, was reportedly signed by Russian Gazprom and the Iranian National Oil Company. The deal was concluded as Russian expenditures in Iranian energy sector currently number $4 billion.
Less than a week after the handshakes in Tel Aviv and Riyadh hit the lines, a rare and meaningful handshake in Tehran replaced the front pages. Tehran’s show foils the western bid to exploit the energy and security capacity of the region.
