First Face-to-Face Meeting Between Erdogan and Putin Since Ukraine War in Tehran

As the trilateral meeting of the presidents of Russia, Turkey, and Iran will be held on Tuesday in Tehran, the simultaneous presence of Putin and Erdogan in Iran’s capital has also provided the opportunity for the first in-person meeting between the two leaders since the start of the Ukraine war on the same day.

Turkey’s presidency institution announced on Monday, July 27, that “recent developments in Syria, the fight against terrorist organizations, particularly the PKK/YPG, efforts to reach a political settlement, the humanitarian situation, and the voluntary return of Syrians to their country” will be on the agenda of the seventh session of the “Astana Process leaders’ meeting.”

The first round of this meeting, attended by representatives of Iran, Russia, and Turkey, aimed at establishing a ceasefire in Syria following preliminary talks in the city of Astana (Nur-Sultan), the capital of Kazakhstan, was held in Sochi, Russia on December 1, 2017.

The last visit of Putin and Erdogan to Tehran dates back to September 2018, when the visit was conducted as part of holding another round of this same meeting.

However, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey, who arrives in Tehran on Monday, has repeatedly sought a face-to-face meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began.

Vladimir Sotnikov, a Russian political analyst, told the French news agency: “The timing of this [bilateral] meeting was not chosen by chance.”

He added: “While Russia is carrying out its ‘special operation’ in Ukraine, Turkey also wants to conduct its ‘special military operation’ in Syria. This will be the main subject of this meeting.”

Erdogan has repeatedly announced in recent months Turkey’s readiness for a military attack on northern Syria to complete the buffer zone he envisions on that country’s territory and along Turkey’s border.

While Russia and the United States have opposed such an attack, Erdogan reminded Putin at the end of May of the agreement three years ago between Ankara and Moscow to create a zone “cleared of terrorism” along the Turkey-Syria border.

The face-to-face talks between Putin and Erdogan on this matter in Tehran come as the Islamic Republic has been attempting in recent weeks, according to Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, to mediate to prevent “a new crisis in the region.”

The bilateral meeting between Putin and Erdogan also comes as a four-party meeting was held in Istanbul in recent days, attended by experts from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and the United Nations, to resume the export of Ukrainian grain to various countries around the world.

Turkey’s presidency institution announced on Monday that Erdogan will participate on Tuesday in the seventh meeting of the Turkey-Iran cooperation council.

However, Putin, in addition to participating in the trilateral “Astana Process leaders’ meeting” and bilateral talks with Erdogan, will also meet separately with officials of the Islamic Republic.

Putin’s trip to Tehran, which is his second foreign visit since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, comes as the White House reported Russia’s request to Iran to purchase “hundreds of drones” so that Russia could use them in its military attack against Ukraine.

Also on Saturday, CNN television network, citing the U.S. National Security Advisor and based on satellite images obtained exclusively by the news network, reported that members of a Russian delegation visited Kashan air base at least twice over the past month to inspect armed unmanned aerial vehicles.

Nevertheless, the head of the economic commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly previously announced that the most important topics of discussions between Russia’s president and Tehran officials would be “planning to develop economic cooperation between Iran and Russia.”

The seventh session of the “Astana Process leaders’ meeting” in Tehran will be held a few days after Joe Biden’s trip to the Middle East and his meeting with Israeli and Saudi officials.

Source: Radio Farda