Vladimir Putin to meet with leaders of Iran

Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a visit to Iran today.

In Tehran he will attend the summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum together with the presidents of Bolivia, Venezuela, Iran, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, as well as the prime minister of Algeria.

"The sides plan to discuss the prospects of development of the global gas market and of promoting consumption of gas as the most affordable, efficient and environmentally friendly type of energy resource. They will also exchange opinions on urgent issues on the path of gas industry development. Special attention will be paid to possible coordinated steps to promote the interests of producer countries," RIA Novosti cited the Russian presidential aide, Yuri Ushakov, as saying.

A joint declaration will be adopted following the forum, which will reflect the principled positions of the GECF member states on priority issues of cooperation in the gas sphere.

In addition, Putin will meet with the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani. This will be his third meeting with Rouhani this year.

"It is expected that the sides will discuss all topical issues of bilateral cooperation – trade and investment cooperation, nuclear energy, oil and gas production, military and technical cooperation. As well as urgent international issues such as the settlement of the Syrian conflict, the implementation of the joint comprehensive action plan on the Iranian nuclear program, the fight against terrorism, particularly confronting the Islamic State terrorist group," the presidential aide added.

An expert of the Center for Central Asian and Caucasus Studies of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the RAS, Stanislav Pritchin, told Vestnik Kavkaza that "the official purpose of the visit is the summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, which will be held in Tehran today."

"It is clear that the situation in Syria will be a major theme there. Russia and Iran have the most close cooperation in this area now. We see that it is not only the coordination of efforts in Syria, but also outside, the fact that Iran offered the use of its airspace for strikes is such an example. As we know, its territory was used twice to strike from ships of the Caspian Flotilla. In addition, Iran has provided airspace for Russian strategic bombers Tu-22, Tu-160 and Tu-95, which use Iranian territory to reach the conflict zone in Syria. It shows how high the level of interaction between our armed forces is. I think that we will continue to work out a plan for further actions to normalize the situation," the expert suggested.

"On the one hand, we are tactically aware that first and foremost we need to fight terrorism. But the main question is about the vision of the future of Syria, both of the Russian leadership and the Iranian leadership. Turkey, in fighting the Kurds, is trying to advance its own interests. That is, the main problem on the agenda now is how to resolve disputes and conflicts, and whether Assad will be a stabilizing factor for the interim period of political normalization, or whether he must resign and some new force must replace him to stabilize the country," Stanislav Pritchin concluded.

A senior research fellow of the Institute for Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Sazhin, in his turn, said that "Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani, first of all, international issues and, of course, Syria and the joint fight against Islamic State.

"There are many things which unite the two countries in this area, but I think there are certain nuances in the question of maintaining al-Assad’s power. As I see it, Russia and Iran have their own views on the future of Syria after the destruction of Islamic State. But I do not think that such purely military matters will be decided at this level, the generals will do this. So there will be a conversation about the general directions of future policy, I would say, the strategy on Syria," the expert added.

"As for bilateral relations, the prospects are good. They have been good since 2013, when Hassan Rouhani became Iranian President. Of course, the negotiations between two or even three executives will give a certain impetus to the development of relations," Sazhin noted.

"There are many areas where cooperation would be most effective – aerospace, the production and export of hydrocarbons, oil and gas, military-technical cooperation. There are many other areas where cooperation would be desirable – agriculture, banking," he recalled.

"So I think that President Putin's visit is taking place just in time, because there is a struggle for Iran already, and it will be intensified. Russia needs to be ready to defend its economic and financial interests," Vladimir Sazhin concluded.