Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in the present day in Moscow the place he held talks along with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
“We wish our relationships with Russia to be sturdy and complete. These relations won’t be quick time period or positional, however everlasting and strategic,” the Iranian president stated. As well as, he thanked his Russian counterpart “for facilitating Tehran’s entry into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.”
The Iranian leader also noted “an excellent expertise of cooperation between Iran and Russia in Syria within the battle towards terrorism.”
“This expertise can create conditions for its growth and use in different areas,” he stated. “Below the present situations, it’s doable to develop cooperation within the fields of financial system, politics, tradition, science, expertise, protection and army spheres, in addition to in safety and area points.”
In flip, Putin — alongside different points — talked about the scenario in Afghanistan.
“Now, after all, each you and us are involved in regards to the scenario that’s growing in Afghanistan. I want to talk about all these points with you, to know your position on this problem,” he stated.
Opposite to expectations and a few statements previous to the Iranian chief’s journey to Russia, Raisi’s go to failed to attain a serious breakthrough and is unlikely to carry relations between the 2 international locations to a brand new qualitative degree. The 2 sides have been working to spice up commerce and financial ties particularly, though an extra impetus could also be given to the event of the military-political dimension of interplay.
Iran introduced final month that it was near finalizing a 20-year agreement on strategic cooperation with Russia, however up to now plainly the events haven’t been in a position to agree on its phrases. The Iranian president introduced a brand new draft of the settlement to Moscow and submitted it to Putin for consideration. If this feature is finally rejected, it might be a brand new disappointment for Tehran, which is attempting to conclude long-term cooperation agreements with all pleasant international locations.
“We handed over to our Russian colleagues a doc on strategic cooperation between the 2 international locations, which may determine prospects for at the least 20 years,” he stated. Based on the Iranian president, “The present degree of commerce and financial relations [between Iran and Russia] doesn’t trigger satisfaction. … We will improve the extent of our commerce and financial cooperation by a number of occasions.”
This settlement may revive Russian-Iranian commerce and financial relations, which have confronted a stage of long-term stagnation. The “file” quantity of commerce between the international locations in 2021 — amounting to $3.3 billion — ought to hardly be thought of an important success. For comparability, commerce between Russia and Turkey is at about $22 billion to $25 billion yearly.
As well as, Tehran has not but paid its money owed for the development of the Bushehr nuclear energy plant, which is being created by the Russian state-owned Rosatom. American sanctions additionally stop the event of bilateral commerce and financial ties. Russian Railways, one other state-owned entity, ceased implementation of its initiatives in Iran in April 2020 as a consequence of fears regarding US sanctions. In flip, this choice has a damaging impression on the implementation of different applications throughout the framework of the Russian-Iranian initiative to create the North-South Transport Hall.
Additionally, rumors in regards to the conclusion of an settlement on military-technical cooperation throughout Raisi’s go to to Moscow — which supplied for the potential for Iran purchasing Russian army tools for a complete of $10 billion, together with S-400 air protection techniques and Su-35 fighters — didn’t pan out.
Nonetheless, this doesn’t imply that such an settlement won’t seem within the close to future. A Russian army analyst talking to Al-Monitor on situation of anonymity stated that the precise quantity of contracts for the availability of Russian weapons to Iran may barely exceed $2 billion, which is precisely the quantity Moscow could be prepared to offer as a mortgage to Tehran, which lacks money.
But one military-political motion that ought to give Raisi’s go to to Moscow higher resonance are the planned joint naval exercises between Russia, China and Iran within the Indian Ocean. The announcement of the upcoming drills got here towards the backdrop of negotiations between the leaders of the 2 international locations. Notably the day earlier than the Iranian president’s arrival, a detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet, consisting of the missile cruiser Varyag, the massive anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs and the massive sea tanker Boris Butoma, anchored within the roadstead of the port of Chakhbahar in Iran.
As well as, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who’re armed by Iran, claimed duty for an assault on oil infrastructure amenities in Abu Dhabi on the eve of the go to. Such an act wouldn’t have been doable with out Tehran’s approval.
Developments like this make Russian initiatives that relate to the formation of a typical safety system within the Persian Gulf and the convening of a corresponding convention sound extra pressing.
“A convention that might carry Iranians and Arabs collectively the place Iran wouldn’t be the topic of dialogue and the place all sides would lay their issues on the desk. Missiles that not solely Iran possesses. The Arabs are additionally growing missile manufacturing. Considerations about Yemen, Syria, Iraq and plenty of different scorching spots, which, a method or one other, trigger variations between different international locations [should be discussed at the conference]. That is our idea,” stated Russian Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov on the eve of Raisi’s go to to Russia.
Putin and Raisi additionally mentioned issues regarding the Iranian nuclear program.
Particularly, as Putin acknowledged, it is vital for Moscow to know Tehran’s place on reviving the 2015 settlement on Iran’s nuclear program recognized formally because the Joint Complete Motion Plan (JCPOA).
“After all, it is extremely essential for me to know your place on the JCPOA,” Putin said on the Russian-Iranian talks.
Tehran doubtless needs to enlist extra assist from Moscow on this matter, however up to now Russia’s method seems fairly balanced. Based on feedback from Lavrov, there’s “actual progress” within the dialogue on the Iranian nuclear program — particularly, the need of Iran and the US to “acknowledge particular issues” of each states and perceive how they are often “addressed within the total bundle.”
“We hope that an settlement shall be reached. For this, it is vital that the Iranian facet is as life like as doable and cooperates with the [International Atomic Energy Agency], and that the Western members on this negotiation course of don’t attempt to create psychological pressure by periodically planting criticism of Iran and making calls for on it within the media,” Lavrov said.
Nikita Smagin, a correspondent for TASS in Iran and an knowledgeable of the Russian Council on Worldwide Affairs, informed Al-Monitor, “We should always not neglect in regards to the ongoing profitable interplay between the 2 international locations in Syria, although it was believed that Tehran and Moscow within the Center East are incompatible forces, and the times of this cooperation are numbered. On the entire, the events have reached for an method when it’s doable to focus on coinciding pursuits and systematically construct up cooperation. Breakthrough options listed here are uncommon, however sluggish and painstaking work permits us to achieve new outcomes. And it’s on this vein that Raisi’s present go to to Russia ought to be considered.”
