On Tuesday 12 July, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putinwill travel to Iran to meet with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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Putin to travel to Iran
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, as reported by Al Jazeera:
The president's visit to Tehran is being planned for July 19.
He added that the meeting was for peace talks on Syria. In recent years, Russia, Turkey, and Iran have been participating in the so-called 'Astana peace process' to end over 11 years of conflict in the Middle Eastern country.
President Vladimir Putin will visit Tehran next week for meetings with the leaders of Iran and Turkey, the Kremlin said, in Russia’s latest effort to build ties with non-Western countries amid the war in Ukraine.https://t.co/AkEAfQoPbN
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 12, 2022
What is the real reason for the visit?
However, the Kremlin’s announcement came just one day after the United States cited intelligence suggesting that Tehran will provide Russia weapons for use in Ukraine, as reported by The Independent.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday 11 July at a White House press briefing:
Information indicates that the Iranian government is preparing to provide Russia with up to several hundred UAVs, including weapons-capable UAVs on an expedited timeline.
In addition, the US has suggested that the country will also train Russian troops in how to use the UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). Sullivan said:
Our information further indicates that Iran is preparing to train Russian forces to use these UAVs, with initial training sessions slated in as soon as early July. It’s unclear whether Iran has delivered any of these UAVs to Russia already.
The New York Times claims the visit is 'Russia’s latest effort to build ties with non-Western countries amid the war in Ukraine.' The trip comes after Putin visited Tajikistan,a former Soviet state in central Asia, in June.
Interestingly, the visit will follow US President Joe Biden’s trip to Iran’s regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Israel starting on Wednesday 13 July. Both countries have so far refused to join global efforts to sanction Russia for its war in Ukraine as a result of their domestic interests.
Peskov also said that Putin will also have a separate meeting with Erdogan in Tehran, though it is not clear what about. The Turkish President has attempted to mediate between Russia and Ukraine before, and has apparently been offering to meet the Russian leader for months, according to Le Monde.
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