Russia’s relationship with Iran appears to be back on track after a row connected to the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process threatened to cause a rupture in the budding strategic partnership, Eurasianet writes.
It seems that the Kremlin, given its challenges in maintaining its wartime economy, has acceded to Iranian wishes to keep the controversial Zangezur corridor off the regional geopolitical agenda.
A Sept. 17 visit to Tehran by Russia’s Security Council secretary, Sergei Shoigu, appears to have smoothed over the relationship.
In the wake of the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Iran has fast emerged as a vital partner for Russia, helping the Kremlin get around Western sanctions.
However, behind the scenes, Tehran reportedly threatened to downgrade bilateral relations, as well as halt negotiations on concluding a strategic partnership agreement because of the “Zangezur corridor”.
Subsequently, both sides engaged in damage control. While Iran’s secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Ahmadian, was in St. Petersburg to participate in a meeting of BRICS member states, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A few days later, Shoigu popped up unexpectedly in Tehran, where he met with Ahmadian and delivered Putin’s personal message to the Iranian leadership. The message reportedly affirmed that “Russia’s stance on regional cooperation with Iran has not changed.”
Russian state-controlled media didn’t provide many details about Shoigu’s discussions in Tehran. But the TASS news agency did note that “special attention was paid to the position of the Islamic Republic on the issue of transportation routes and corridors to/from Azerbaijan.”
Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, offered a more direct take. “During his meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Shoigu reviewed the agreements reached between the two countries and reiterated his support for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s policy regarding corridors and transportation routes with the Republic of Azerbaijan.”
