Putin in Iran for talks on grain blockade, Syria

The leaders of Iran, Russia and Turkey are holding summit talks in Tehran, formally on the conflict in Syria, but with the turmoil caused by President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine far more in focus.

Putin arrived in the Islamic Republic on Tuesday to join Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and their Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the so-called Astana Format discussions on Syria, the Russian leader’s first trip outside the former Soviet Union since he ordered the February 24 invasion. 

While the three leaders plan a joint statement on Syria, bilateral talks on the war in Ukraine may draw greater international attention. Turkey has been negotiating with Russia and Ukraine on a possible deal to unblock exports of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports to help ease soaring global prices and a deepening hunger crisis in many poorer countries. 

The US also warned last week that Iran is preparing to send Russia hundreds of drones, including ones capable of carrying weapons, amid significant losses by Putin’s military as his war approaches its sixth month.

Strategic co-operation

Putin and Erdogan will “100%” discuss Ukrainian grain exports and the issue is proceeding “very actively,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said Monday, according to the state-run Tass news service. With Russia’s economy under unprecedented international sanctions over the war, Ushakov said the two sides will also discuss “the widest range of economic issues,” including payment in national currencies.

Putin plans to discuss with Raisi the stalled multiparty negotiations over reviving the 2015 international accord on Iran’s nuclear programme, according to the Kremlin, as the Islamic Republic labours under huge sanctions.

The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Russia’s Gazprom signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic co-operation on projects worth about $40bn, Iran’s state-run Shana news agency reported Tuesday. The agreement covers development of six oil and two gas fields, construction of gas export pipelines, gas and product swaps and the completion of the Iran LNG export terminal. 

Gazprom made no mention of the deal’s value and said only that the two sides had “agreed to analyse co-operation options.” Previous Iranian attempts to enter the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, including with Gazprom’s participation, have been thwarted by US sanctions.

Using food supplies as a weapon

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday he was hopeful Russia and Ukraine could clinch a grain deal this week, adding that “the lives of tens of thousands of people depend on this agreement.”

Ukraine and its US and European allies have accused Russia of using food supplies as a weapon to try to force an easing of sanctions pressure on its economy, something the Kremlin denies. Ukraine has also accused Russia of stealing grain from occupied regions and exporting it. 

Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN said last week that grain negotiations between them in Istanbul had been constructive. Ukraine has demanded firm security guarantees that Russian troops won’t attack its Black Sea ports once it demines passages to them. Russian missiles have already damaged some Ukrainian grain terminals at ports, hampering future shipments.

Russia, Iran and Turkey have co-ordinated efforts to enforce a peace agreement in Syria, even as their geopolitical goals have often conflicted. 

Erdogan met Tuesday with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who warned that a renewed Turkish military campaign in northern Syria would be “harmful” to the region. 

Turkey has deployed troops across its border with northern Syria to target US-backed Kurdish forces it regards as terrorists, while Russia and Iran have backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime against antigovernment rebels. Putin in March urged his security officials to send thousands of Middle East fighters to help Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Putin’s visit to Tehran is “quite important and timely,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call Monday. “It is a good opportunity to discuss regional and international problems.” 

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