Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to help end the Middle East conflict as he met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Turkmenistan. The two sanctioned governments reaffirmed their ties amid allegations of military cooperation. “We are ready to do everything that is in our power to contribute to the settlement of this situation,” Putin said. He credited Iran with making “real efforts to end the war” since US-Israeli attacks began on February 28.
Putin also pointed to what he called the “positive evolution” in relations between Russia and Iran. Their meeting came before a Commonwealth of Independent States summit in Avaza, a resort on the Caspian Sea. The summit starts Friday.
Military Links and Allegations
Russia and Iran have reinforced diplomatic and military links since Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022. According to the report, the two countries have 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.
In turn, Russia has faced accusations of supplying targeting data or other data to Iran for attacks on US interests or targets in the Middle East. The report presents these as accusations; it gives no details about the alleged data and identifies no targets. These claims place security concerns over the Russia-Iran relationship alongside Putin’s offer to help mediate the conflict.
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said the meeting was one of several bilateral encounters scheduled on the summit’s sidelines. The summit is also due to include the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Turkmenistan and other Central Asian states.
Diplomacy and Deadlock
Putin and Pezeshkian last met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan in September. On Wednesday, Putin told Pezeshkian in a call that he was ready to help mediate in the Middle East war, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.
Iran-US talks appeared to be at an impasse. Pezeshkian said this week that negotiations with Washington were “meaningless.” Diplomatic efforts to resolve Russia’s offensive in Ukraine also appeared deadlocked, as both sides intensified attacks.
The two leaders arrived in Turkmenistan as representatives of what the report describes as two of the world’s most sanctioned nations. Their countries’ diplomatic and military ties have grown as they’ve become more reliant on one another. Accusations about Iranian weapons supplies to Russia and Russian data support to Iran remain part of the security picture.
CIS Members Seek Their Own Course
The CIS was established in 1991 to maintain ties among former Soviet republics after the Soviet collapse. 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 helps Russia demonstrate that it “actually has the orbit and that it has its own sphere of influence that is fortified and institutionalised.” Several members, however, are seeking to diversify their economic and diplomatic partnerships, including by strengthening ties with China and Western nations.
“Even if Russia decides to use this platform to propagate anti-Western or anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, that doesn’t mean the other members will automatically subscribe to its position,” said Zhanibek Arynov, a Kazakhstan-based researcher specialising in Central Asian geopolitics.