Iran moved a step closer to relief from oil and banking sanctions when President Vladimir Putin decreed Russian Federation is ready to import enriched-uranium stockpiles, allowing an agreement with world powers to take effect.
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Describing the meeting as “quite constructive”, the spokesman says Iran and Russian Federation are against “external attempts to dictate scenarios of political settlement in Syria” and any change in leadership should come through elections.
“Although Moscow and Tehran are unanimous the future of Syria’s President Bashar Assad and the country’s political future is to be decided by the Syrian people without any outside pressures, some latent disagreements remain”, Akhmetov believes.
What began as a conflict between Assad’s forces and Western- and Gulf-backed rebels has since spiralled into a civil war and multi-faceted fighting that has killed more than 250,000 people. The violence has displaced millions more.
Every solution about Syria should take into consideration the consensus of the Syrian people and officials, he added.
Since the deal’s announcement, however, Russian Federation has wasted no time in re-energizing relations, declaring immediately that it would unfreeze a contract to supply Iran with advanced anti-aircraft missiles, which the United States fears could prevent a military strike against Iran’s nuclear sites.
Tehran and Moscow are the regional allies of the Assad government in Syria’s long-lasting conflict.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of a summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).
Putin, on a one-day visit, praised Iran for its support of Russia’s operation in Syria. “Under a long-term scheme, the Americans are determined to dominate Syria and then extend their control over the region [in a bid] to fill the historical void of not having dominance on West Asia, which this scheme poses a threat to all nations and countries, particularly Russian Federation and Iran”, he said.
Russian Federation and Iran both align on their desire for a more multipolar world and on their discontent towards perceived United States hegemony in global affairs.
To another query, Zangeneh said, Iran and Russian Federation agreed on gas swap and manufacturing of equipment during the meeting between the two countries’ ministers.
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Venezuela’s leftist leader, using his preferred epithet for the US, told Khamenei, “By stoking unrest and chaos across the globe, and humiliating the identity of countries, the imperialism is seeking to destroy the independence of nations”. Iran has been a key backer of Assad since the 2011 uprising against his rule that started the war, and Iranian forces have played a prominent role in supporting the Syrian army in a renewed ground offensive in the country’s strategically vital west.
