Putin ratifies Russia-Iran agreement to strengthen military, diplomatic ties
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law ratifying a strategic partnership treaty with Iran, Russian state news agency RIA reported on Monday.
The agreement is expected to strengthen military and diplomatic ties between Moscow and Tehran.
As part of the agreement, the two countries agreed not to provide military assistance to any third party with which the other is in hot conflict, according to the Kyiv Independent.
The agreement established a framework for the development of long-term cooperation between the two countries. Russian state media outlet TASS reported that the agreement covers all areas of strategic partnership, including: defense, counterterrorism, energy, finance, transportation, industry, agriculture, culture, science, and technology.
Russia-Iran relations
The speaker of Russia’s state legislative body, Vyacheslav Volodin, noted that the agreement will coordinate Tehran and Moscow’s international actions, TASS reported.
Putin inked the 20-year strategic partnership pact with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, in January. Russian state media noted that Putin and Pezeshkian signed the deal after the perceived international political pressure.
Since the start of the Ukraine-Russia War in 2022, Iran has given the Russian military thousands of Shahed drones, alongside short-range ballistic missiles, the Kyiv Independent reported. Because of the Islamic Republic’s assistance, Russia has been able to produce its own variants of Iranian drones, such as the Geran-2.