Vladimir Putin visits Iran on first trip outside former USSR since Ukraine war began
- In Tehran, the Russian leader is also meeting Türkiye’s Erdogan to discuss a Ukraine grain deal and the situation in Syria
- Putin’s trip sends a strong message about Moscow’s plans to forge closer strategic ties with Iran, China and India in face of Western sanctions
Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran on Tuesday, the Kremlin leader’s first trip outside the former Soviet Union since Moscow’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
During his visit to Tehran, Putin also held his first face-to-face meeting since the invasion with a Nato leader, Türkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to discuss a deal that would resume Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports as well as peace in Syria.
Putin’s trip, which comes just days after US President Joe Biden visited Israel and Saudi Arabia, sends a strong message to the West about Moscow’s plans to forge closer strategic ties with Iran, China and India in the face of Western sanctions.
Footage of Putin’s meeting with Khamenei showed the Russian leader and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi sat together a few metres from the Supreme Leader, in a spartan white room. Only an Iranian flag and a portrait of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini could be seen in the background.
“The contact with Khamenei is very important,” Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy adviser, told reporters in Moscow. “A trusting dialogue has developed between them on the most important issues on the bilateral and international agenda.”
“On most issues, our positions are close or identical.”