Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to have separate meetings with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the sidelines of the Iran-Russia-Turkey summit in Tehran on Friday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th September, 2018) Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to have separate meetings with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the sidelines of the Iran-Russia-Turkey summit in Tehran on Friday.
Diplomatic relations between Russia and Iran date back to the 16th century. On May 20, 1920, the governments of the Soviet Russia and Persia exchanged notes of mutual recognition. On December 25, 1991, Iran expressed its interest in continued diplomatic relations with Russia as the successor to the USSR.
The Agreement on the Basic Relations and Principles of Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran, signed by the countries' presidents on March 12, 2001, significantly strengthened the legal basis for bilateral relations. The deal came to force on April 5, 2002.
The Russian-Iranian political dialogue is based on close or shared positions on most issues on the global and regional agendas, particularly on establishing a multipolar world order, promoting the UN role in international affairs, countering new challenges and threats, as well as the Syrian and Iraqi peace processes and the situation in Afghanistan.
Russia considers cooperation with Iran an important factor in protecting its national interests and promoting stability in the South Caucasus and Central Asia, as well as in the middle East.
Russia and Iran maintain permanent high-level contacts.
Between 2013 and 2014, Putin and Rouhani met four times: on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Heads of State Council in Bishkek and in Dushanbe; the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) summit in Shanghai; and the fourth summit of the heads of the Caspian littoral states in Astrakhan.
On July 9, 2015, Putin and Rouhani met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Russia's Ufa. The two leaders discussed key issues in Russian-Iranian relations, specifically the prospects for expanding trade and economic ties, as well as energy cooperation.
The next meeting between the presidents took place on September 28, 2015, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
On November 23 that same year, Putin paid a brief working visit to Iran, during which he met with Rouhani and Khamenei.
In February 2016, Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader, made a four-day visit to Russia, during which he met with Putin, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other senior officials.
On August 8, 2016, Putin visited Baku to take part in the first trilateral meeting between the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Iran, at the invitation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. During this visit, Putin held bilateral talks with Rouhani.
On March 27-28, 2017, Rouhani paid an official visit to Russia.
On November 1, 2017, the presidents of Russia, Iran, and Azerbaijan met in Tehran, after which they adopted a joint statement. Putin held separate meetings with Rouhani and Khamenei as part of the visit.
On November 22, 2017, Putin met with Rouhani and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Russian city of Sochi. They discussed the Syrian peace process, including their joint work within the Astana format. After the meeting, Putin held another meeting with the Iranian president.
On April 3-4, 2018, Putin made a working visit to Turkey, during he met with the Iranian president. The leaders discussed bilateral relations as well as matters on the international and regional agendas. The heads of Russia, Iran and Turkey also held a trilateral meeting.
On June 9, the presidents of Russian and Iran met again on the sidelines of the SCO summit in the Chinese city of Qingdao.
On July 12, Putin received Velayati at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow. Velayati handed Putin a message from Rouhani.
On August 12, Putin and Rouhani participated in the fifth summit of Caspian Sea littoral states heads in the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, during which the legal status of the long-disputed body of water was resolved. The two presidents held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit and discussed ways of resolving the most acute world crises, especially those in the Middle East.
The foreign ministers of Russia and Iran hold regular meetings within UN General Assembly sessions and on the sidelines of other international events. They also have telephone conversations. Deputy foreign ministers maintain regular consultations to discuss the bilateral agenda and relevant issues in the Middle East and North Africa, among others.
Interparliamentary ties between the two countries, as well as contacts between ministries and governmental agencies have also been actively developing.
Russia and Iran are working together to find effective solutions to today's challenges and threats, including the fight against international terrorism, and the political and diplomatic settlement of the Syrian conflict.
Russia also played a significant role in resolving the situation around Iran's nuclear program.
After international sanctions were lifted off Iran following the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015, Russian-Iranian relations and regional partnerships began actively developing. Economic ties and trade continue to grow. Numerous visits of representatives of various agencies and ministries have resulted in $40 billion worth of contracts being drafted. These contracts cover a large range of areas, including industry, air and space, machine building, oil and gas, petrochemical and agriculture.
There is a permanent Russian-Iranian Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation. Its last regular meeting was held in Moscow on March 6, 2018.
In November 2014, Russia and Iran signed an agreement to build the second and third reactors for the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (the so-called Bushehr 2 project) in southern Iran. The launching ceremony took place on September 10, 2016. The combined capacity of the two new units will be 2,100 MW. The second unit is planned to completed by 2024, and the third one by 2026.
According to the Russian Federal Customs Service, last year's trade between Russia and Iran amounted to $1.7 billion, including $1.3 billion in Russian exports and $392.2 million in Russian imports.
In the first half of 2018, trade between Russia and Iran amounted to $945.4 million, including $628.5 million in Russian exports and $316.9 million in imports.
Russia mostly exports food and agricultural raw materials; metals and metallic products; machines, equipment and transport vehicles; wood and pulp and paper products; as well as chemical products.
Russia imports food and agricultural raw materials; metals and metallic products; chemical products; minerals; machines, equipment and transport vehicles.
Agriculture plays an important role in the development of bilateral cooperation. Trade of agricultural products increased almost by almost 25 percent in 2017. In March, the Russian and Iranian agriculture ministries tentatively agreed to sign a memorandum to export grain to the Iranian market.
Russian-Iranian defense industry cooperation is developing in accordance with international law. In 2007, the two states signed an agreement to provide Russia's S-300 missile systems to Iran. The deal was frozen when UN Security Council Resolution 1929, which prohibited the transfer of heavy weapons such as missiles or missile systems to Iran, was adopted on June 9, 2010. After the conclusion of the JCPOA, Russia completed its deliveries.
In March, it was reported that Russia would establish a special service center for post-sale technical maintenance for the missile systems.
The two countries cooperate in the oil sector as well. In November 2017, Russia initiated purchases from Iran under the "oil for goods" program. Russia and Iran began discussions on this program several years ago, while the corresponding memorandum was signed in August 2014. The start of this joint program was, however, postponed several times mostly due to payment settlement difficulties.
Under this program, Tehran must invest half of its oil revenue in purchasing Russian goods and services. Starting this year, Moscow is planning to buy 5 million tonnes of Iranian oil (up to 100,000 barrels a day) and then export it to other countries. According to the head of the Russian Trade Mission in Iran, Andrei Lugansky, Russia could deliver $45 billion worth of goods under this program. Possible "payment" includes railway goods, trucks, buses, aircraft and airport equipment, pipes, and construction services in Iran.
A number of Russian companies, such as Gazprom, Rosneft, Gazprom Neft, Zarubezhneft, Tatneft, and LUKoil, are negotiating with Tehran to explore three oil fields in Iran.
Moscow and Tehran are also implementing a number of large-scale projects in the energy sector, including the construction of the Sirik thermal power plant in Iran and the electrification of the Garmsar-Incheboron section of railway.
Russian-Iranian cooperation in the cultural, humanitarian, scientific, and education sectors also continues to develop. The Culture Mission at the Embassy of Iran in Moscow opened in 1998. The government holds the annual Russian Olympiad on Persian Language and Literature together with Russian universities, and organizes advanced Farsi (Persian language) training courses for Russian students and teachers at Iranian universities.
The Russian Ministry of Education and Science grants state scholarships to Iranian students for studying at Russian universities to help Iran train national specialists.
The Joint Russian-Iranian Commission on Orthodox-Islam Dialogue is also operating.
The Iranian cultural week started on September 3 in the Russian cities of Moscow and Ufa, and will last through September 8. The goal of this event is to familiarize Russians with Iranian culture.
