Vladimir Putin Begins Talks with Iranian Officials on 'Syria and the JCPOA'

Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, arrived in Tehran on Wednesday, November 1, to participate in a trilateral meeting with Iran and Azerbaijan. After an official welcome ceremony at Saadabad Palace by his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, he went to meet with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, for discussions. No details of this meeting have been released yet. Iranian and Russian news agencies have reported that the JCPOA and the Syrian crisis are among the main topics of discussion between Vladimir Putin and Iranian officials. The primary reason for Putin's visit to Tehran is to attend the trilateral meeting aimed at developing joint cooperation. The first trilateral meeting took place in August 2016 with the participation of Hassan Rouhani, Vladimir Putin, and Ilham Aliyev, the presidents of Iran, Russia, and Azerbaijan in Baku. The Kremlin had previously announced that cooperation among the three countries in political, economic, cultural, and humanitarian issues is expected to be discussed. The fight against terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking, and transnational crime networks are also key topics for the three presidents' negotiations. The energy sector and the North-South transport corridor are additional issues that Iranian and Russian media have reported will be addressed in this meeting. Sergei Ryabkov, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, stated on Wednesday that several important agreements will be signed during Vladimir Putin's visit to Iran. This is Putin's third visit to Tehran during his presidency. He previously traveled to Tehran in December 2015 to attend a gas-exporting countries meeting and again in October 2007 for a summit of Caspian Sea coastal states. The Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported that, in addition to participating in the trilateral meeting, Vladimir Putin will also hold separate discussions with his Iranian and Azerbaijani counterparts. According to this news agency, the Russian president will also negotiate with Iranian officials regarding Syria and the JCPOA. Russia is a member of the P5+1 group with which Iran reached a nuclear agreement in July 2015. Iran and Russia are major supporters of Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria, and media from both countries have identified the Syrian conflict as a key topic of discussion between Vladimir Putin and Iranian officials. On Wednesday, General Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Army, visited the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff headquarters and met with his Iranian counterpart, Major General Mohammad Baqeri. According to Mehr News Agency, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Army expressed a desire to discuss two topics during his visit to Iran: the current situation in Syria and the technical and military cooperation between Iran and Russia. Iran's military cooperation has entered a new phase following the Syrian crisis; for the first time since the revolution, Iran allowed the Russian Air Force to use Nojeh Air Base to target Assad's opponents in Syria. Iran also permitted Russian missiles to be launched towards Syria after passing through Iranian airspace. AFP also noted the nuclear cooperation between Iran and Russia, stating that Russia is involved in the construction of two additional nuclear reactors in Bushehr. Russia began producing equipment for the construction of new reactors at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in June 2017. The contract for the construction of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant 2, which includes the construction and installation of reactors 2 and 3 at the Bushehr nuclear site, was signed between Iran and Russia in November 2014.