Russia’s Vladimir Putin spoke with Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian in Turkmenistan on Friday, where the two leaders praised their countries’ growing economic ties and similar views on world affairs, a move viewed with concern by the United States.
At odds with Washington and the EU over Russia’s war in Ukraine, which he has described as part of a broader existential struggle against an arrogant and self-interested West – Putin is seeking to deepen ties with what he calls the Global East and Global South. Are interested.
Putin, whose country is hosting a summit of BRICS countries in Kazan on October 22-24, invited Pezeshkian to visit Russia on an official visit, an offer the Iranian leader accepted, according to Russia’s state RIA news agency. Took.
“Economically and culturally, our communication is growing stronger and stronger day by day,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted Pezeshkian as telling Putin.
“Given the desire of the top leaders of both countries, the growing trend of cooperation between Iran and Russia should be accelerated to strengthen these relations,” he said.
In a subsequent report from Dubai, Russia’s TASS news agency quoted the Iranian president as saying in a video released by his office that the two sides had agreed to boost cooperation in a number of areas.
“Our conversation with the Russian President lasted about an hour. And we talked again about the agreements we have concluded,” the report quoted him as saying.
“We have had constructive talks. We have agreed to expeditiously complete gas fields, road and rail construction, desalination and other projects related to energy, petrochemicals and power.”
Pezeshkian last month committed his country to deeper ties with Russia to counter Western sanctions. The two countries say they are close to signing a strategic partnership agreement, with Pejeshkian saying on Friday he hopes it can be finalized at the BRICS summit in Russia later this month.
The United States views Moscow’s growing ties with Tehran as a matter of concern. It has accused Iran of supplying ballistic missiles to Russia for use in the conflict in Ukraine, but Tehran denies this.
Putin said, a new world order is emerging
Russia says that cooperation with Iran is increasing in all fields.
“We work actively together in the international arena, and our assessments of current events in the world are often very close,” TASS quoted Putin as saying to Pezeshkyan on the sidelines of the conference in the Turkmenistan capital Ashgabat.
Pezeshkian said Iran and Russia have significant complementary capabilities and can assist each other, according to IRNA. “Our positions in the world are much closer to each other than to others,” he told the Russian leader.
Pezeshkian previously said that Israel should “stop killing innocent people”, and that its actions in the Middle East were supported by the US and the EU. Russia has also criticized Israel for bombing civilian areas, which it says is protecting itself.
Tass quoted Putin as saying that economic ties between Moscow and Tehran were growing.
In comments released by the Kremlin on Friday, Putin told the conference in the Central Asian country that a new world order is being formed and new centers of economic growth and financial and political influence are emerging.
Russia supports “the broadest possible international discussion” on the emerging multipolar world and is ready to discuss it in various forums, including the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS, Putin said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
