Putin to meet Khamenei during visit to Iran

Published November 21, 2015
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a visit to Tehran on Monday, the Kremlin said, as Moscow goes on a diplomatic push over the Syria conflict.

Talks with Iran’s leadership will focus on “issues in bilateral relations, including atomic energy, oil and gas and military-technical cooperation”, Putin’s top foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said on Friday, with the Russian president also set to meet his counterpart Hassan Rouhani.

After the visit to Tehran — Putin’s first there since 2007 — the Russian leader will host Jordanian King Abdullah II on Tuesday and French leader Francois Hollande on Thursday in Russia.

Russia and Iran are both militarily backing forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, with Moscow flying a bombing campaign and Iran believed to command thousands of troops on the ground.

President Vladimir Putin
President Vladimir Putin

Putin has stepped up his push for a broader coalition of countries to fight IS militants in Syria after confirming this week the bombing of a Russian passenger jet over Egypt and following last week’s bloody attacks in Paris.

The Kremlin strongman is also looking to strengthen business ties with Iran as Russian firms eye lucrative opportunities after the landmark nuclear deal that Tehran struck with world powers in July.

Despite earlier reports in the Russian press that Putin could host the Saudi Arabia’s King Salman in Russia for a meeting soon, Ushakov said that the two sides were eyeing a possible date next year after the leaders spoke at the G20 summit in Turkey.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2015

Opinion

Editorial

Maulana’s message
Updated 11 Mar, 2025

Maulana’s message

The problem now is that most jihadi fighters, ideologues refuse to end their "struggle" on advice of state or mainstream clerics.
President’s speech
11 Mar, 2025

President’s speech

PRESIDENT Asif Zardari, addressing Monday’s joint session of parliament to mark the start of a new parliamentary...
Indian takeover
11 Mar, 2025

Indian takeover

BY the time the Champions Trophy final ended, the only indicators that the tournament had been hosted by Pakistan...
Mosquito season
10 Mar, 2025

Mosquito season

AS temperatures rise, the threat of dengue looms large over Pakistan. Its warning signs have already arrived. Dengue...
Reckless rhetoric
10 Mar, 2025

Reckless rhetoric

ONCE again, the Indian leadership gave in to their worst impulses, with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar...
Water scarcity
Updated 10 Mar, 2025

Water scarcity

The need to meet climate challenge is even greater when Pakistan is prone to multiple disastrous events at the same time.