Speaking on the sidelines of a Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Summit in Tehran, Putin, sitting beside Khamenei, said that the two nations shared “very similar” views on war-torn Syria.
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Russian Federation has started delivering S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Iran, the latter’s ambassador to Moscow Mehdi Sanaei said, according to RT.
Senior research fellow Vladimir Akhmetov, of the Oriental Studies Institute under the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that coordination of efforts in the struggle with the Islamic State was the focal point of Putin’s talks with the Iranian leadership.
Attention is now focused on stopping Islamic State group jihadists, who previous year took control of large parts of Syria and surged into Iraq, from breaching Assad’s defences and taking Damascus.
Although enthusiasm in trade relations between Russian Federation and Iran is not new, Russian Federation has recently been visibly stepping up its economic cooperation with Iran.
He also said no country should impose its will on the political structure of the country.
“Nobody can or should force upon the Syrian people certain structures of powers or state or leaders from outside – that can only be decided by the Syrian people”, Putin said in a video translated by France24.
President Putin came to Iran promising big plans for cooperation and investment in a wide range spheres from oil and gas to construction, power generation and railways. Both sides signed agreements in the energy, medical and transport sectors, including Russian plans to finance the building of two pipelines in Iran, although it is unclear if the billion in export deals Russia was hoping for have materialised.
Beyond the smiles in Tehran this week it’s a saying Iran and Russian Federation might have cause to remember as their Syrian joint venture unfolds.
“Unlike certain [governments], we are committed to not stabbing our partners in the back and not taking any action in secret against our friends”, Putin reportedly said.
Putin s trip was planned before the UN Security Council on Friday authorised countries to “take all necessary measures” to fight IS in a France-sponsored resolution one week after the Paris attacks.
Venezuela’s leftist leader, using his preferred epithet for the USA, 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”.
His Eminence mentioned that the Americans’ direct and indirect assistance to terrorist groups such as DAESH is another glaring weak point in American policies, stating: “Cooperating with countries that are disreputable and infamous in the eyes of public opinion in the region and in the world shows that the Americans do not have an honorable diplomacy”.
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These new commitments build on previous Russian pledges to provide Iran with advanced missile-defense systems, which Tehran has sought to defend its nuclear infrastructure against possible attack.
