Putin also addressed a natural gas export summit in Tehran – both Russian Federation and Iran are large gas exporters. A Kremlin spokesperson said Iran and Russian Federation have a “unity of views” on Syria.
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On his first trip to Iran in eight years, Putin, accompanied by his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, went straight into a meeting with Khamenei, the Islamic republic s ultimate authority.
Putin ordered Russia’s first military campaign outside the former Soviet Union in decades to bolster Assad’s regime.
According to footage broadcasted by the Russian channel Russia-24 which was reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP), Putin said at the meeting that “No one from outside is able to impose upon the Syrian people any sort of rule for their country or say who should take over its leadership”. The countries that oppose Assad, led by the USA, have said the Syrian leader’s actions against his own people, including the barrel-bombing of civilians, mean he had lost all legitimacy and should leave office. Russia’s Vnesheconombank, Russia’s EXIAR and Iran’s Central Bank signed a memorandum of understanding to promote investment activities, guarantee support, export financing and trade ties.
“This must be prevented through wisdom and active interaction, ” Khamenei told Putin at the start of their meeting.
“Strikes by Russia’s air group against Islamic State positions and operations by the Syrian government army and the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps have not yet changed the balance of force between the terrorists and Damascus in favor of the legitimate Syrian authorities yet”.
Their shared goals have seen Iran send commanders from its elite Revolutionary Guards to support and advise Assad’s forces, with Tehran coordinating a collection of Shiite militias on the ground. The plan, however, says nothing about Assad’s fate, a point on which Russian Federation and Tehran might be at odds.
The proposal, which seems to draw heavily on a recently circulated Russian initiative, states that “free and fair elections” would be held according to a new constitution within 18 months.
Khamenei said that Tehran and Moscow need to work closely, and advocated for a greater economic relationship between the nations.
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The USA, Turkish and Saudi Arabian governments want Assad to step aside as part of a plan to end the war, but Russian Federation and Iran have remained strong supporters of Assad. He warned that the United States and its allies, having failed to accomplish their goals in Syria via armed conflict, are now pursuing the same goals via negotiations.
