Raisi and Putin to Meet in Ashgabat

Russian media outlets have reported, citing officials from the country, that Vladimir Putin and Ibrahim Raisi, the presidents of Russia and Iran respectively, will hold a bilateral meeting on Wednesday, June 29th during the summit of the Caspian Sea littoral states.

Mr. Putin is visiting Tajikistan in his first foreign trip following Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, and will then travel to Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, which is hosting the sixth summit of Caspian Sea littoral states.

The Sputnik news agency, citing Yuri Ushakov, an adviser to the Russian Prime Minister, reported that Vladimir Putin will hold separate meetings with Mr. Raisi and Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, on the sidelines of this summit.

Ibrahim Raisi’s first meeting with Vladimir Putin took place on December 20th of last year in Moscow, with some images from that meeting proving controversial, including the considerable distance between the two men behind a desk, which Moscow said was due to coronavirus protocols, or the image of Mr. Raisi praying in the Kremlin, which his supporters praised.

According to the Islamic Republic News Agency, Ibrahim Raisi will travel to Turkmenistan on Wednesday of this week leading a high-ranking delegation of Iranian political and economic officials to participate in the sixth summit of the Caspian Sea littoral states.

Source: Radio Farda