Putin's Spokesman: The Quran Gifted to Ayatollah Khamenei is a Model of an Ancient Version

The Russian news agency TASS, citing Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the President of Russia, reports that the Quran gifted to Ayatollah Khamenei during Vladimir Putin's visit to Iran is a model of an ancient version kept in Russia. Iranian news agencies had previously reported that the Russian President, during his visit to Iran and meeting with the Supreme Leader, gifted him 'one of the oldest manuscript versions' of the Quran, which is kept in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Mr. Peskov confirmed in an interview with TASS that this gift was given to the Supreme Leader and added that the gifted Quran is a 'tangible version' of the original book. Vladimir Putin met with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on November 23. This meeting was described by Ali Akbar Velayati, the senior advisor to the Supreme Leader on international affairs, as 'the most important meeting' in the history of the Islamic Republic. On the same day, a Quran was gifted to Mr. Khamenei. The Fars news agency reported that the gifted Quran 'dates back to the era of Marwan, the last caliph of the Umayyad dynasty.' Marwan ibn Muhammad, known as Marwan II or 'the donkey,' was the last caliph of the Umayyad dynasty, killed in 750 AD, and with his death, the caliphate of this dynasty was abolished, except in Andalusia. Vladimir Putin traveled to Tehran to participate in the Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit. This trip marks his first visit to Iran since 2007. Iran and Russia are among the main supporters of Bashar al-Assad, the President of the Syrian central government, and it has been reported that the Syrian crisis was one of the most important issues discussed by the leaders of the two countries.