On July 12, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to Iran next week to attend a summit on Syria with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Putin.
The presidents visit to Tehran is scheduled for July 19, AP quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. Mr. Peskov added that the three leaders will meet to negotiate peace on Syria.
In recent years, Russia, Turkey and Iran have held talks within the framework of the " Astana peace process" to end more than 11 years of conflict in the Middle Eastern country of Syria.
Russia and Iran are the main political and military supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey provided military support to the Free Syrian Army and other rebel groups fighting against al-Assad's forces in the northwest.
The upcoming visit marks the second time President Putin has visited abroad since Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24. At the end of June, Mr. Putin visited Tajikistan.
Mr. Putin's visit to Iran comes after US President Joe Biden's trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia this week. The main topics of discussion during the visit were Iran's nuclear program and Iran's actions in the region.
The Kremlin's announcement comes after the White House said Iran was supplying Russia with hundreds of drones, including those capable of carrying weapons, for use in Ukraine.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said it was unclear whether Iran had provided drones to Russia, but Washington had "ities" showing that Iran was preparing to train Russian forces to use them this month.
Our information shows that the Iranian government is preparing to supply Russia with several hundred UAVs, including those capable of carrying weapons, advisory member Sullivan told reporters.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani did not deny the US statement. Irans cooperation with Russia in a number of complex technologies has existed since before the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he said. There has been no particular development in this area recently.
Iran has long been researching and developing drones, including the kamikaze bomb-held drone similar to the switchblade supplied to Ukraine by the US.
Mr. Putin and Mr. Biden's tours come in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict entering the 5th month. Russia and Iran have always maintained a close relationship, while Turkey tries to play a mediating role in the Ukrainian conflict. Meanwhile, both Israel and Saudi Arabia are against participating in global efforts to punish Russia for the domestic interests of the two countries.
Meanwhile, a new round of negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations on grain exports from Ukraine will take place on July 13 in Istanbul - Interfax news agency quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying.
The West aims to reopen Ukraine's Black Sea ports, which it believes have been closed by a Russian blockade to prevent exports from the world's main grain producer and threaten to exacerbate global hunger.
The Kremlin said President Putin - who offered to act as a mediator on the grain issue - discussed the issue with President Putin over the phone on July 12.
