Russia and Iran have confirmed they are working on closer ties regarding bilateral security, as well as their mutual efforts in Syria, despite a bill passed by U.S. lawmakers which means new sanctions for the two nations because of their support for Bashar Al-Assad.
According to Newsweek, Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani met Wednesday with Russian National Security Secretary Nikolai Patrushev in Tehran. In their discussions, the former “pointed to the need to deepen the two countries’ efforts to ensure regional stability and security,” according to Tass, the state-run Russian news agency, which cited Tehran’s embassy in Moscow. Patrushev called for both countries to work closely together in Syria, especially alongside pro-opposition Turkey in their trilateral peace talks, known as the Astana process.
That same day, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Tehran’s ambassador in Moscow, Mehdi Sanaei, also “confirmed their commitment to further coordination of efforts aimed to alleviate tensions in the Middle East, namely within the Astana process of aiding Syrian regulation.”
Both meetings appeared to signal the two nations’ willingness to press on with their backing for Assad’s government even after Washington voted in favor of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, a part of the National Defense Authorization Act. The former act is intended to further punish financially the Syrian leader and his supporters at home and abroad for facilitating alleged widespread human rights abuses throughout the country’s ongoing civil war.
Be the first to comment