Putin met with Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei shortly after arrival in Tehran.
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Before that agreement was ever concluded, it was already used to justify the restoration of contract for the transfer of an advanced S-300 missile defense system from Russian Federation to Iran. The two countries disapprove of the prescriptive approach by the U.S. and its allies regarding a Syrian settlement.
But after meeting today with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in Tehran, Putin appeared to signal again that Russian Federation remains opposed to removing Assad, which the United States believes is the basic starting point for any political solution to the four-year conflict. Russian Federation is also emerging as a long-term arms partner for Iran, despite the countries having a complicated history over territory, oil, commerce and communism. Russian Federation will be prepared to issue a $5-billion government export loan.
The two countries have selected 35 priority projects in energy, port facilities, and railway electrification, according to Putin. Such moves are justified by the July conclusion of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1, which includes Russian Federation.
The decree, issued on the same day as Putin arrived in Iran on an official visit, said Russian firms were now authorised to export hardware and to provide financial and technical advice to help Iran with three specific tasks.
While it said it was targeting Islamic State militants, most of its airstrikes were against other groups fighting the Syrian government. Positional warfare is in progress at the moment, and neither party to the conflict has achieved a decisive breakthrough. However its campaign appears to have hit rebel positions allowing Syria’s army to regain ground.
The comments were a direct rebuff of repeated demands from the United States, France, Britain and Saudi Arabia that President Bashar al-Assad should step down and play no future role in war-torn Syria. “At a certain stage the question will arise whether the Islamic Revolutionary Guards will agree to support a secular regime in Syria”, Akhmetov said.
Khemenei – who held a two-hour meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir here – welcomed further expansion of “bilateral, regional and international” cooperation between Tehran and Moscow. “It is important to breathe a new life into Syria’s political institutions and to create civilian bodies of power”.
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Russia’s Vnesheconombank, Russia’s Export Insurance Agency EXIAR and Iran’s Central Bank signed a memorandum of understanding to promote investment activities, guarantee support, export financing and trade ties.
