Russian and Iranian presidents meet in Kremlin to sign partnership treaty

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian held talks in the Kremlin on Friday before signing a broad cooperation agreement aimed at deepening their partnership amid tough Western sanctions.

Their “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty” covers everything from trade and military cooperation to science, education and culture, the Kremlin said.

Pezeshkian’s visit comes ahead of Monday’s inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to negotiate peace in Ukraine and take a tougher stance on Iran, which is grappling with growing economic problems and other challengesincluding military setbacks in its sphere of influence across the Middle East.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected any connection with Trump’s inauguration, saying the signing had been planned for a long time.

Welcoming Pezeshkian as they sat down for negotiations, Putin said the new treaty would “give additional impetus to virtually all areas of our cooperation.”

Pezeshkian, who met with Putin for the third time since he came to power in July, said the documents provide a “solid basis for our progress.”

“We view our relationship with you as vital, sensitive and strategic, and we are firmly committed to this,” he said.

The Iranian president stressed that countries in the region should resolve their own problems on their own, adding, apparently referring to the United States, that the presence of external forces will only exacerbate tensions and destabilize the situation.

“They come from half a world away to wreak havoc in the region,” he said. “These links will definitely defuse their plot.”

Russia’s ties with Iran strengthened after Putin sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022. Ukraine and the West have accused Tehran of supplying Moscow with hundreds of drones intended to attack the Ukraine, which Moscow and Tehran have denied.

Last year, Iran joined the BRICS bloc of developing economies and Pezeshkian attended its summit, hosted by Russia in Kazan.

Russia and Iran, which had difficult relationships in the pastdeveloped cordial relations after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, with Moscow becoming a key trading partner and supplier of weapons and technology to Tehran, which faces heavy international sanctions.

Russia built Iran’s first nuclear power plant, launched in 2013, and is currently building two more nuclear reactors there.

Russia was part of the 2015 deal between Iran and six nuclear powers offering sanctions relief against Tehran in exchange for scaling back its atomic program, and the Kremlin offered political support to Iran when the The United States unilaterally withdrew from the agreement during Trump’s first term.

Russia and Iran also joined forces to support Bashar al-Assad’s government during Syria’s civil war, but failed to prevent it. his fall last month after a lightning offensive by the opposition. Assad and his family fled to Russia.

His ouster was a further blow to Tehran’s self-proclaimed “Axis of Resistance” in the region, which had already been hit by Israeli offensives against two Iranian-backed militant groups – Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel has also directly attacked Iran twice.

Tehran increasingly needs Moscow’s help as it faces economic woes and bitter setbacks in its sphere of influence in the Middle East. The unrest could worsen after Trump returns to the White House with his “maximum pressure” policy on Iran.

In particular, Iran wants sophisticated Russian weapons, such as long-range air defense systems and fighter jets, to help it repel possible Israeli attacks.

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Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Nasser Karimi in Tehran contributed.