Tabnak – Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan have arrived in Tehran to hold the new round of trilateral summit along with their Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani. Meanwhile, it seems that the sidelines of the upcoming meeting is of a greater importance for all sides than the meeting itself.
According to IRNA, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Tehran, capital city of Iran on Wednesday, to attend Iran-Russia-Azerbaijan trilateral meeting. Upon his arrival on Wednesday at the Mehrabad International Airport, Putin was warmly welcomed by Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Masoud Karbasian.
Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Tehran, the two side are expected to discuss several regional and international issues.
'The conversation will be about international issues, including taking into account the actions of the US administration, which is trying to increase the sanctions pressure both on Russia and Iran,' Ryabkov said at the plenary session of the State Duma of the Russian Federation on Wednesday, reported Russia's Sputnik news agency.
Russia and Iran need to decrease dependence on the US dollar, as well as the US banking system, and many countries are beginning to understand this, the official said.
Also today, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Tehran to take part in the tripartite meeting with his counterparts from Iran and Russia. Heading a high-ranking delegation, president Aliyev was officially received by Iranian Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Massoud Karbasian.
"This would be the second summit. The first was held in Baku. We will hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said recently.
Maintaining cooperation to finalize railway and road infrastructures in the framework of North-South Transport Corridor and following up agreements already signed on transit issues are among the most important topics to be discussed by the three parties.
It should be noted that Putin, who so far has traveled to Tehran three times, is slated to hold talks with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
Putin’s bilateral talks in Tehran will focus on the nuclear issue and their cooperation in Syria, as well as economic ties, the Kremlin said in an emailed statement.
"Iran wants Russia’s position to be more clear and supportive” over the nuclear pact, which is endangered by the US stance, Alexei Malashenko, a senior analyst at the Berlin-based Dialogue of Civilizations research group said to Bloomberg. They’re also likely to discuss Russia and Iran’s postwar balance of responsibilities in Syria, he said.
