By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-17 15:14:58 | Updated at 2025-01-17 20:40:21
5 hours ago
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, signed a broad cooperation pact on Friday as their countries deepened their partnership in the face of stinging Western sanctions.
Russian and Iranian officials say the “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty” covers all areas– from trade and military cooperation to science, education and culture.
Putin praised the deal as a “real breakthrough, creating conditions for the stable and sustainable development of Russia, Iran and the entire region”.
He said the amount of trade and economic cooperation was still insufficient, voicing hope the new treaty will help expand them. He said the countries are trying to resolve technical obstacles to advance planned projects to ship Russian natural gas to Iran and build transport corridors to Iranian ports in the Gulf.
Pezeshkian said the projects are feasible, adding that experts were working to resolve the remaining obstacles.
His visit came ahead of Monday’s inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to broker peace in Ukraine and take a tougher stance on Iran, which is grappling with growing economic problems and other challenges, including military setbacks in its sphere of influence across the Middle East.
