Russia, Iran to Join Efforts for Syrian Settlement – Putin
Photos released of the meeting with Khamenei released by the Kremlin showed Putin and the Iranian leader sitting jovially, with an unusually animated Putin smiling broadly.
“The conversation was of a very constructive nature”, Peskov said. Russian Federation and Iran are against “external attempts to dictate scenarios of political settlement” in the conflict-wracked state, and only Syria’s people could decide to dump Assad in elections following a ceasefire.
“The Americans have a long-term plot and are trying to dominate Syria and then the whole region”, Khamenei said at the meeting, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
“Such actions will lead to an escalation of the Syrian crisis and sends the wrong message to the terrorist groups”, foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber-Ansari quoted Zarif as saying.
The Russian decree, issued on the same day as Putin arrived in Iran on an official visit, said Russian firms were now authorized to export hardware and to provide financial and technical advice to assist Iran in three specific areas of the country’s infrastructure.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made the remark on Wednesday, adding “Russia and Turkey are both friendly neighboring countries to Iran and it is of utmost importance to us that our neighbors maintain good relations with one another”.
President Vladimir Putin has eased restrictions on Russian companies working on Iranian enrichment sites as he travelled to Tehran for his first visit since 2007. “The first unit of the Bushehr nuclear power plant is already at full capacity, and work has begun on the second and third unit”.
The U.S., Turkish and Saudi Arabian governments want Assad to step aside as part of a plan to end the war, but Russian Federation and Iran have remained strong supporters of Assad.
On the economy, Russian Federation and Iran are looking at business deals once sanctions are lifted under the July 14 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, including Moscow.
President Muhammadu Buhari is now in Tehran, Iran, to participate in the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) summit. The transcript did not clarify specifically what Putin was referring to, but given Russia’s prominent role in political negotiations and its diplomatic efforts with Iran’s rivals in the Persian Gulf, there have probably been incentives and pressure to reduce support for Assad.
Russian military forces deployed T-90 tanks and air support in battle with rebel forces in Idlib and Latakia, according to the report, which has not been substantiated by other sources, according to the Post.