The first meeting between the presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and Iran, Masud Pezeshkian, ended on Friday with harsh Iranian criticism of Israel and a staging of the strategic partnership between both countries, allies in the war in Ukraine and opposed to the West.
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The two leaders spoke for about an hour, according to the Kremlin, coinciding with their participation in a regional forum in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
It was the first in-person meeting between the two leaders since the Iranian president’s election in July. “We actively work together on the international scene and our assessment of world events are often very close,” Putin told Pezeshkian.
“Relations with Iran are a priority for us and are developing successfully,” he added in a short speech broadcast on Russian state television.
Pezeshkian also emphasized the growing closeness with Moscow.
“Our positions on the international scene are similar,” Pezeshkian said, according to an official translation broadcast on Russian television.
Israel, one of the central topics of the conversation with Putin
Tehran is also accused by Western countries of supplying Shahed explosive drones and short-range missiles to Russia, which Iran denies.
“The Zionist regime does not respect any international legal and humanitarian framework. The situation in the (Middle East) region is critical,” Pezeshkian said, according to the Iranian government in a statement.
The tragic death of the former Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisiwas a severe setback for Moscow, as Putin considered him “a true friend of Russia.”
“We (Russians and Iranians) work actively in the international arena and our assessments of world events are often very close,” the Russian leader noted at the beginning of the meeting.
Putin, very fond of numbers, highlighted the increase so far this year in commercial exchanges between both countries, subject to numerous Western sanctions.
The upward trend in cooperation between Iran and Russia must accelerate with the willingness of the top leaders of the two countries to strengthen these ties
The latest round of sanctions against the Iranian regime responded to the alleged supply of ballistic missiles to the Russian army, which in turn led to a debate on possible Western authorization for Ukraine to use long-range missiles against targets in Russian territory. .
“It is true that it has not overcome the drop suffered last year, but the trend is good,” he said, referring to the increase of almost 10% in the first half. For his part, according to the Iranian Government, Pezeshkian stressed that the relationship with Russia “is cordial and strategic.”
“Economically and culturally, our ties are getting stronger every day. The upward trend in cooperation between Iran and Russia must accelerate with the will of the top leaders of the two countries to strengthen these ties,” he said.
The Iranian stressed that both countries are “complementary”, so “they can help each other.” “Our positions in the world are much closer than those of others,” he stressed. Iran asks Israel to stop killing Before meeting with its Russian colleague, Pezeshkian gave an interview to Russian television in which he attacked Israel for its attacks in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria.
“I would like to tell Israel to stop and stop murdering innocent civilians. To stop bombing residential buildings, people, who no longer have anything,” he said. Pezeshkian accused Israel of violating “all existing and future agreements.”
Furthermore, he assured, according to the official statement, that “European countries and the United States do not want relations between the countries of the region to remain on a peaceful track.”
European countries and the United States do not want relations between the countries of the region to remain peaceful.
Moscow and Tehran have condemned both the Israeli attacks against the Gaza Strip and the bombings against Lebanese and Syrian territorywhile the Kremlin refrained from criticizing the launch of Iranian missiles against Israel.
On this occasion, Putin did not allude to this matter in the presence of the cameras, although the Middle East was one of the points on the agenda. Yes indeed, The Kremlin ruled out that Putin plans to maintain contacts, including by telephone, with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in the near future.after meeting with his Iranian colleague.
A new meeting in sight as part of the Brics summit
Putin and Pezeshkian plan to meet again at the Brics summit in the Russian city of Kazan, which will be held between October 22 and 24.
However, the Kremlin hopes that the Iranian president will make an official visit to Russia, which is why in its statement it added that Putin invited his Iranian colleague to visit the country, an invitation that Pezeshkian accepted with good taste.
Putin, who holds Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei personally responsible for the “new dynamic” in relations between Moscow and Tehran, ordered the signing of a new comprehensive strategic partnership agreement with the Islamic republic..
Precisely, last week the Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, traveled to Tehran, where he stated that Moscow wants to increase cooperation with the Islamic Republic, which, according to the Kremlin, includes “sensitive” technical-military spheres.
Nearly 30 countries have requested to join the BRICS, group founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and that now has ten members, the Foreign Minister of the South American country, Mauro Vieira, stated this Wednesday.
The BRICS incorporated five new members this year: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Among the new requests to join the group of emerging countries include Cuba and Türkiyeas well as several Southeast Asian nations.
Argentina’s Foreign Minister Diana Mondino said Tuesday that her country could “start studying” its degree of association with the BRICS if the bloc develops its own financial system as an alternative to the international payments platform Swift.
The BRICS agreed in August 2023 on the accession of Argentina, along with the new members, but President Javier Milei rejected the incorporation of his country in December, just after assuming the head of state.
STEPHANY ECHAVARRÍA – INTERNATIONAL EDITOR – EL TIEMPO
(*With information from EFE)
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