Russian President Vladimir Putin told Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian he’d do everything in his power to help end the Middle East conflict. The two leaders met in Turkmenistan ahead of a Commonwealth of Independent States summit. Putin said Iran had made “real efforts to end the war” since US-Israeli attacks began on February 28. His remarks put the attacks at the centre of their discussion, while the meeting also reflected stronger diplomatic and military ties between Moscow and Tehran.
The attacks and the diplomatic offer
“We are ready to do everything that is in our power to contribute to the settlement of this situation,” Putin said. He also described a “positive evolution” in relations between Iran and Russia. Iran-US talks appeared stuck. Pezeshkian said this week that negotiations with Washington were “meaningless.”
Putin had also told Pezeshkian in a call on Wednesday that he was ready to help mediate in the Middle East war, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported. The Turkmenistan meeting followed that call and was one of several bilateral encounters scheduled on the summit’s sidelines, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said.
The article identifies the attacks as US-Israeli but gives no further detail about their targets or effects. Putin framed his offer as a pledge to contribute to a settlement. He credited Iran with efforts to end the war, while Pezeshkian’s remarks showed talks with Washington had stalled.
Military and diplomatic ties
Since Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, the two countries have reinforced diplomatic and military links and become increasingly reliant on each other. Ukraine and Western countries have accused Iran of supplying Russia with Shahed drones and short-range missiles for use in the Ukraine war. Russia, in turn, faces accusations that it supplied targeting data or other data to Iran for attacks on US interests or targets in the Middle East. Ukraine and Western countries made the claims about Iran, while the allegations about Russia remain accusations.
Putin and Pezeshkian last met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan in September, described in another report as last month. Their Turkmenistan meeting took place as diplomatic efforts to resolve Russia’s offensive in Ukraine also appeared deadlocked, with both sides intensifying attacks.
The CIS summit
The leaders of Russia and Iran, described as two of the world’s most sanctioned nations, arrived in Turkmenistan for the CIS summit. It starts Friday in Avaza, a resort on the Caspian Sea. Leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Turkmenistan and other Central Asian states are due to attend.
The CIS was established in 1991 after the Soviet collapse to maintain ties among former Soviet republics. Georgia withdrew following a 2008 war with Russia; Ukraine halted its participation after Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea; and Moldova left in 2023 as it sought closer ties with the European Union.
Temur Umarov, a researcher at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin, said the CIS demonstrates that Russia “actually has the orbit and that it has its own sphere of influence that is fortified and institutionalised.” Several members also seek to diversify their economic and diplomatic partnerships, including by strengthening ties with China and Western nations. Zhanibek Arynov, a Kazakhstan-based researcher specialising in Central Asian geopolitics, told AFP that other members wouldn’t automatically adopt Russia’s position, even if Moscow used the platform to propagate anti-Western or anti-Ukrainian rhetoric.