Amidst Ukraine war, Iran’s new president met with Vladimir Putin

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and his Russian Counterpart Vladimir Putin met in Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat on Wednesday.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi offered Russian leader Vladimir Putin to cooperate on the Caspian Sea in the fields of transport, transit, fishing and tourism at their meeting on the sidelines of the 6th Caspian Summit in Ashgabat on Wednesday.

According to Raisi, "the two countries’ collaboration in Syria and other areas proves that they can take steps beneficial for both the two states and the entire region."

"We have a strategic view of relations with Russia," he added.

On Wednesday, Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat hosted the 6th Caspian Summit, attended by leaders of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan.

Both leaders and their governments emphasized the importance of the meeting and the friendliness of the Russian-Iranian relationship in the face of what they see as implacable US hostility. 

In the final communique, the presidents of the five Caspian nations outlined about two dozen principles that lay the foundations of the littoral states’ activities in the Caspian Sea region. One of the principles is that there will be no armed forces of any third countries in the Caspian Sea region.

Common themes in press coverage of the meeting emphasized how Russia and Iran cooperate in Syria in what they refer to as an “anti-terrorist campaign,” share concern about events in Afghanistan, bemoan being the objects of unjustified American sanctions, and express a desire to boost their economic relationship.

The importance of the Putin-Raisi meeting is that the two leaders see themselves as having common interests concerning the United States and that they see each other as partners against it. 

If nothing else, Putin and Raisi can rest assured that the other won’t cooperate with Washington against him, as Russian observers sometimes feared Iran’s previous president, Hassan Rouhani, might do after the signing of the nuclear accord in 2015. 

This may increase the prospects for more concrete military cooperation besides what they have already achieved in Syria, as well as greater Russian-Iranian economic cooperation in the future.