Putin arrives in Tehran for trilateral summit on Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Iran for a summit with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts on the Syrian conflict.

According to Press TV, Putin arrived in the capital Tehran on Tuesday, his first foreign trip since the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine in late February.

Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov has said Putin and President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would adopt a joint statement following their meeting in Tehran, the draft of which "has been prepared and almost agreed on."

Iran, Russia, and Turkey are the three guarantors of the so-called “Astana peace process” to end more than 11 years of conflict in West Asian country.

During his trip, Putin is also scheduled to meet Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Mikhail Bogdanov, the Kremlin special envoy for West Asia and Africa, has noted that Moscow views Iran "as a reliable partner and a like-minded nation amid global changes".

He announced that efforts are underway to sign a new cooperation agreement between Moscow and Tehran, which would create "a strong cooperation framework for the next 20 to 25 years."

Raeisi meets Erdogan

Earlier on Tuesday, Raeisi officially welcomed Erdogan, who arrived in the capital on Monday evening.

The two presidents will take part in the seventh supreme council of cooperation between Iran and Turkey later in the day.

During the meeting, Tehran-Ankara ties would be extensively assessed and bilateral actions aimed to further promote relations between the two countries would also be discussed.

For Erdogan, the Tehran summit will provide a chance to push forth Turkey's efforts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine for a ceasefire. It will be Erdogan's first meeting with Putin since Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Putin would probably brief his Iranian and Turkish counterparts on the Russian military operation in Ukraine and would discuss related issues with them.

SS