Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, visited Iran on Tuesday (19 July), underscoring how the war in Ukraine has altered the world’s geopolitics by helping to align two regional powers that have been isolated from Europe and the U.S.
Putin met with President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran, as well as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader, and said relations were “developing at a good pace.”
Officials in both countries have said that sanctions are helping to unite them, solidifying a long-fraught relationship that is now playing an increasingly central role as a counterweight to American-led efforts to push back against Western adversaries.
A Kremlin spokesman told an Iranian broadcaster ahead of Putin’s visit that Iran and Russia could soon sign a treaty on strategic cooperation, expanding their collaboration and moving away from using the dollar to denominate their trade.
Putin is also planning to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, who was also in Tehran and has emerged as an important mediator between Russia and Ukraine.