Vladimir Putin to visit Iran in first foreign trip outside his circle of influence

Russian President Vladimir Putin will on Tuesday fly to Iran to hold a sit-down meeting with its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali al-Khamenei, New York Post reported. This would mark his first trip outside the Kremlin’s circle of influence since he waged a war on Ukraine in February. He had only visited Turkmenistan and Tajikistan in July to attend the Caspian Summit. 

Notably, the announcement comes a week after American intelligence reported that the Islamic Republic was willing to sell dozens of Drones and UAVs to Moscow. But, Kremlin later denied any such deal. Meanwhile, detailing the President’s trip to the Middle East, his top advisor said that the meeting was pivotal given the fact that both Tehran and Moscow had similar positions when it came to the international agenda.

​​"The contact with Khamenei is very important,” Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy adviser, told reporters in Moscow. “A trusting dialogue has developed between them on the most important issues on the bilateral and international agenda.”​ “On most issues, our positions are close or identical,” Ushakov added.

Putin's trip comes just three days after his American counterpart Joe Biden capped his Middle east trip in Saudi Arabia. As Washington continues to slap sanctions on Russian Federation, the 69-year-old leader has shifted his focus on the East, primarily on China, India and Iran. Interestingly, his trip to Iran also coincides with the Turkish President and his ally Recep Tayyip Erdogan According to reports, both the leaders are poised to hold a meeting in Tehran. 

War continues to ravage Ukraine

Meanwhile, the war in Eastern Europe drew closer to the end of its fifth month. Russian troops have continued their relentless shelling of Ukraine. On Monday, Ukraine’s embattled president Volodymyr Zelenskyy expanded the shakeup of his security services by suspending 28 more officers. A day earlier, he dismissed two senior officials over allegations that their agencies contained “collaborators and traitors.”

On Monday, Tass reported that Russia has claimed to have neutralized more than 250 'foreign fighters' using high-precision missile strikes at the temporary deployment point for mercenaries of the "so-called Ukrainian Foreign Legion" in the Kostantinovka region of Donetsk.

(Image: AP)