Russian President Vladimir Putin has made himself persona non grata in the West with his invasion of Ukraine, but is still welcome in other parts of the world. He was received on a red carpet at Tehran airport on Tuesday. In particular, Putin went there to shake hands with a NATO leader for the first time since his invasion: that of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
It is important for Putin to keep warm ties with his remaining allies. Tehran is then a logical destination. Russia and Iran are both targets of Western sanctions, have overlapping interests in Syria and see value in military cooperation. “Our relationship is of a very deep, strategic nature,” Putin recently told Iranian President Raisi.
The timing of the visit is striking. Late last week, US President Biden traveled to two of Iran’s nemesis in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia and Israel. For Tehran, the visit of the president of the greatest country on Earth was an opportunity to show that it is not isolated. Putin was received by President and hardliner Ebrahim Raisi in addition to a reception by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s Supreme Leader.
Kamikazedrones
Putin is not the first Kremlin representative to visit Iran recently. In recent weeks, Russian delegations traveled several times to a military airport in Iran, the US government said. The Russians are said to have inspected Iranian kamikazedrones that could be useful in precision attacks on Ukrainian positions. Iran’s government denies selling hundreds of drones to Russia for use in Ukraine, but confirms ‘cooperation on new military technology’.
The visit was not without tension, because Putin also had folds to iron out. It was not for nothing that the Iranian oil minister was waiting for him at the airport on Tuesday. Now that Russia has started looking for new buyers of Siberian oil due to Western sanctions, it is stealing customers from Iran. The Iranian market share in the Asian oil market is suddenly under pressure. Russia says it hopes Iran agrees to a renewed nuclear deal — canceled in 2018 by then-US President Trump — that would give the Iranian economy air.
Turkey
Even more important for Putin was the presence in Tehran of Turkish President Erdogan. Turkey may sell heavy combat drones to Ukraine, but it is the only NATO member state that has not imposed sanctions against Russia. Putin can show at home and abroad through the meeting with Erdogan that he is still being listened to by a NATO leader.
Putin and Erdogan are key players in international negotiations to restore Ukraine’s grain exports through the Black Sea. Turkey has offered Istanbul as a checkpoint for Ukrainian grain ships – Russia is demanding inspections of the ships to ensure no weapons are being transported to Ukraine by sea. An agreement could somewhat reduce major food shortages in Africa, among other places.
Also on the agenda: Syria. Turkey threatens a military offensive in northern Syria to drive Kurdish militias away from the Turkish border. Russia and Iran, allies of Syrian President Assad, oppose a Turkish offensive.
Security in Syria, a possible nuclear deal for Iran, Ukrainian grain: Putin’s visit to Tehran, Russian newspaper concluded Komsomolskaya Pravda, shows that the Russian president is a true world leader. ‘Three global themes in one journey.’