Turkish and Iranian Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hassan Rouhani are expected to visit Russia in the near future, the diplomats of the two countries said.
Erdogan will arrive in Moscow to take part in the High-Level Russian-Turkish Cooperation Council in early March. He will hold talks wit the Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Council, the Kremlin spokesman told Interfax.
Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanai said during a conference in Tehran marking 515 years of ties between Iran and Russia that planning process for President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Russia is being carried out.
A senior research fellow of the Institute for Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Sazhin, praised the importance of Hassan Rouhani's visit to Moscow for the development of the Russian-Iranian relations. "This is a very important visit. Although the two presidents have already met several times, now the upcoming talks of Putin and Rouhani are particularly important due to changes in the situation in the Middle East, as well as good prospects for the Russian-Iranian cooperation," he stressed.
According to him, the Syrian issue will be one of the main themes of Rouhani's visit to Moscow. "After a round of peace talks between Damascus and the opposition, there was a lot of new issues in Astana, so the war in Syria will be a major issue. Also, the presidents will need to discuss the relationship with the new US administration, because Trump's pre-election statements show that he opposed the nuclear deal, while Russia and other parties to the agreement support it," Vladimir Sazhin expects.
Of course, the presidents will speak about the economic relations between Russia and Iran. "In recent years, especially after Hassan Rouhani came to power, a lot of steps have been made to meet each other in trade and economic relations - but most of the documents were not implemented. I think that the possibility to implement these statements will be discussed at the meeting between the two leaders," the senior research fellow of the Institute for Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences concluded.
The deputy head of the Council of the Russian Diplomats Association, Andrey Baklanov, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that, apparently, a more strong recovery of the dynamics and format of political interaction will be included in the agenda of the meeting of Putin and Erdogan among the most topical issues in the Russian-Turkish relations.
The second aspect, which, according to him, is likely to be discussed by the presidents, is a further development of cooperation in the field of anti-terrorism. "This is the implementation of the agreements, which have begun to take shape, the possible development of the unblocking of the Syrian situation in Astana. The whole regional situation and regional security in the Middle East," the deputy head of the Council of the Russian Diplomats Association said.
Baklanov pointed that undoubtedly, the trade and economic relations will be discussed. "In March, there will be the 90th anniversary of the signing of the first economic and trade agreement between Turkey and the Soviet Union. During this time, the relationship have evolved unevenly. Now we should align this dynamic, make it permanent, and agree on the future conduct of the business on the largest projects, first of all the Turkish Stream and the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant," the expert stressed.
According to the diplomat, the importance of Erdogan's visit to Moscow is the time in which it takes place. "First, now it is a sharp and important moment in the establishment of the anti-terrorist struggle. Second, the first steps of the new US administration will be made soon, and we need to understand how this vector of efforts will fit with our and Turkish efforts. Third, now there is an active restoration of the Russian-Turkish relations," Andrei Baklanov concluded.
