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Vladimir Putin heads to Tehran for talks with leaders of Iran and Turkey
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This will be his second foreign trip since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24. In late June, he visited Turkmenistan and Tajikistan and met with the countries’ leaders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to arrive in Tehran on Tuesday (July 19) for talks with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
This will be his second foreign trip since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24. In late June, he visited Turkmenistan and Tajikistan and met with the countries’ leaders.
In his second trip, Putin is scheduled to hold talks with Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the pressing issues facing the region, including the conflict in Syria and a UN-backed proposal to resume exports of Ukrainian grain to ease the global food crisis.
As the West heaps sanctions on Russia and the costly campaign drags on, Putin is seeking to bolster ties with Tehran, a fellow target of severe US sanctions and a potential military and trade partner, the Associated Press reported.
In recent weeks, Russian officials visited an airfield in central Iran at least twice to review Tehran’s weapons-capable drones for possible use in Ukraine, the White House has alleged.
But perhaps most crucially, Tehran offers Putin a chance for a high-stakes meeting with Erdogan, who has sought to help broker talks on a peaceful settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as well as help negotiations to unblock Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.
The gathering has symbolic meaning for Putin’s domestic audience as well, showing off Russia’s international clout even as it grows increasingly isolated and plunges deeper into confrontation with the West, according to the Associated Press.
Kremlin: Putin to travel to Tehran for Raisi-Erdoğan summit on July 19
Putin, Raisi and Erdogan will issue a joint statement after the negotiations, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said on Monday, adding that its draft had already been prepared, the RT reported.
Bilateral talks between the leaders will also take place, while Putin is also expected to meet with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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