Putin Meets With Iranian Leader On Sidelines Of GECF Summit

Heads of state from nine member countries of GECF, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, are expected to take part in the forum’s third summit in Tehran.

In July, Tehran agreed to scale back its nuclear program as part of a deal with world powers. Iran will no longer produce weapons-grade plutonium, and the Fordo site will be converted to a research center.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has formally eased an export ban on nuclear equipment and technology to Iran.

Iran originally signed an $800m contract with Russian Federation in 2007 for the supply of five S-300PMU-1 systems, but it was scrapped in 2010 following a fourth UN Security Council arms embargo on the Middle Eastern country.

Under the nuclear agreement, Iran will modify the uranium enrichment cascades in Fordow, a once-secret facility built inside of a mountain on an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps base, in order to instead enrich non-fissile materials.

Putin congratulated Gas Exporting Countries Forum leaders on “successfully holding this major worldwide event” and added that Russian Federation intends to increase the volume of its gas production by 40% by 2035.

His Eminence mentioned that the Americans’ direct and indirect assistance to terrorist groups such as DAESH is another glaring weak point in American policies, stating: “Cooperating with countries that are disreputable and infamous in the eyes of public opinion in the region and in the world shows that the Americans do not have an honorable diplomacy”. Iran must also reduce ts supply of low-enriched uranium, which stood at 7,845 kilograms in August, down to 300 kilograms.

Tehran’s envoy has said Moscow finally started the procedure of delivering the S-300 missile system to the Islamic Republic.

“The Syrian crisis must and will be decided by political means”, Putin said during Monday’s meeting with his Turkmen counterpart, President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov, on the sidelines of the gas summit. Russia recently announced that it planned to open a billion credit line to Iran, and in November Russia agreed to open a joint bank once sanctions are lifted to finance joint economic projects. They gave themselves an ambitious goal to conduct peace talks before the beginning of January, however they remain divided about the fate of the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. The two countries are backing Assad in a war that has killed more than a quarter of a million people and allowed jihadist groups including Islamic State to spread their influence. Iran News Update has repeatedly called attention to analysis and concern regarding the possible emergence of an Asian bloc consisting of these two nations as well as China and other, smaller partners, all of which could challenge Western interests across the globe while undermining the dominance of United States currency.