Vladimir Sazhin: "Putin-Rouhani talks going to be interesting"

The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will start his official two-day visit to Moscow next Monday, the Kremlin press service said today. During the visit, Rouhani will hold talks with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. On the eve of the event, the senior research fellow of the Department of Near and Middle East at the Institute for Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Sazhin, told Vestnik Kavkaza about the significance and prospects of this visit.

- Vladimir Igorevich, first of all, in your view, what is the importance of the Iranian president's visit for the two sides?

- The visit is of great importance both in the political, as well as in the trade and economic dimension of relations between the two countries. According to experts, more than 10 different contracts will be signed during the visit. I think that this visit will be a serious milestone for the development, expansion and deepening of the Russian-Iranian trade and economic ties. We also know that Iran and Russia are cooperating in Syria now, and no one hides that we have certain difficulties in this regard. Due to this, the Syrian issue will certainly be considered at the highest level of negotiations.

- What issues should be discussed by the Presidents first?

- The main attention will be focused on the development of trade and economic relations. The current level of trade between the two countries is about $2 billion, which is negligible for such strong economies as we have. Therefore, interesting negotiations are expected and very serious and necessary contracts are expected to be concluded. Of course, it is important that all these future agreements will be implemented, because in recent years, many different preliminary agreements have been concluded between the two countries, but only a few have been implemented.

Among other things, this includes investment cooperation. Russia has already invested about 1 billion euro in the development of the railway network in Iran, and serious financial injections into our common projects are yet to come. This issue will also be discussed. Russia's capabilities are not unlimited, but there are several areas in which Russia is able to compete very effectively with other countries on the Iranian market, including investment. In this regard, Hassan Rouhani's visit to Moscow will give the necessary impetus to the development and acceleration of the Russian-Iranian relations.

- In your estimation, are there any differences or unresolved issues in the Russian-Iranian relations today?

- In politics, this is a certain misunderstanding between Moscow and Tehran on the Syrian issue, and in the economy these are financial problems. The Russian and Iranian economies are of the same type, based on the production of hydrocarbons, there are not so many funds in our accounts, due to low prices. At the same time, Iran has the opportunity to actively develop trade not only in the sphere of oil, but also in other spheres, in particular, with Europe, because they have money on their accounts, and Russia does not have them, and it complicates our economic interaction.

- In your opinion, are there any internal political reasons for Hassan Rouhani's current visit to Moscow?

- This is absolutely the right question. We know that presidential elections will be held in Iran on May 19 and that the president in Iran is the number two politician after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - the head of Iran, the spiritual leader of the Iranian Shiites and the supreme commander-in-chief, while the president is the elected prime minister who forms Government and conducts daily work. But the role of the president in Iran is still great, and now there is a serious struggle for the presidency in the republic between the reformist forces supporting Hassan Rouhani and the radical conservatives opposing them. In general, we can say that two worldviews and ideologies are colliding.

Of course, everyone expects that Hassan Rouhani will win the elections once again, especially since much depends on Ali Khamenei's will, but his victory does not have an absolute guarantee. Therefore, Rouhani's visit to Moscow is largely a pre-election step. In Iran, there are groups opposing the fair rapprochement between Russia and Iran, and Rouhani tries to show how important and interesting for Iran are trade, economic and military-political ties with Russia just on the eve of the elections.

- In your estimation, how does the Russian government currently assess Hassan Rouhani as an Iranian leader?

- I think it is positive. Since 2013, when Hassan Rouhani has become president, the development of relations between the two countries have been only positive. Russia, as part of the 5 + 1 group, played an important role in the negotiation on the Iranian nuclear program, and Hassan Rouhani was able to move them from the deadlock, leading the process to the adoption of the Joint Universal Action Plan in less than two years. The role of Russia in the conclusion of a nuclear deal was very high, and Iran understands it.

Since 2013, there have been several meetings between Putin and Rouhani at various venues, and all of them have been positive. In addition, the presidents constantly exchange opinions in telephone conversations, maintaining a strong connection between Moscow and Tehran at the highest level. Hassan Rouhani and his policies, his practical desire for rapprochement with Russia is positively perceived in Moscow.