Russian President Putin is embarking on his next trip abroad. According to the Kremlin, he will travel to Iran next week. His attack on Ukraine is not officially on the list of issues. However, the Turkish head of state Erdogan also flies to Tehran for bilateral talks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning his second trip abroad since he ordered the attack on Ukraine on February 24. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he would travel to Tehran next week for a summit with the heads of state of Iran and Turkey. President Putin's trip on July 19 is currently being prepared.
At the meeting, Russian President Putin, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan want to hold peace talks. According to Peskov, the focus of the talks should not be Ukraine, but Syria. In addition, a bilateral talk between Putin and the Turkish president is planned. The Kremlin spokesman did not say which topics these bilateral consultations should deal with. In the past few weeks, Turkey has repeatedly acted as a mediator in the Ukraine crisis.
Russia, Iran and Turkey are key players in the Syrian conflict. In 2017, the three countries launched the so-called Astana Process, which is officially about restoring peace in the civil war country.
Putin's visit to Iran will be his second trip abroad since Russia's military operation in Ukraine began on February 24. At the end of June, the Kremlin boss visited Tajikistan.
Shortly before the trip became known, the United States said it had indications that Iran wanted to support Russia in the war of aggression against Ukraine. "Our information shows that the Iranian government is preparing to rapidly deploy several hundred unmanned aerial vehicles, including those capable of carrying weapons," said US President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
