Vladimir Putin has signed a pact for partnership on defence just three days before Donald Trump is sworn in as US president. The Russian leader held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at the Kremlin today before signing a 20 year broad cooperation pact to deepen their partnership amid stinging Western sanctions.
Worryingly military cooperation is part of the “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty” which covers a wide range of areas including science, education and culture, the Kremlin said. Pezeshkian’s visit comes ahead of Monday’s inauguration of Trump, who has pledged to broker peace in Ukraine and take a tougher stance on Iran, which is grappling with growing economic problems and other challenges, including military setbacks in its sphere of influence across the Middle East.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed any link with Trump’s inauguration, saying the signing had been planned long ago. Welcoming Pezeshkian as they sat down for talks, Putin said the new treaty will “give an additional impulse to practically all areas of our cooperation.”.
Pezeshkian, who met Putin for the third time since coming to power in July, said the documents form a “solid foundation for our forward movement” and emphasized the “strategic importance” of ties with Moscow. The Iranian president emphasized that countries in the region should resolve their own problems themselves.
“The presence of extra-regional forces will only exacerbate tensions and destabilize the situation,” Pezeshkian said, an apparent reference to the US. Russia ’s ties with Iran have grown closer after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Ukraine and the West have accused Tehran of providing Moscow with hundreds of drones for use to attack Ukraine, which Moscow and Tehran have denied.
