Putin Visits Tehran and Finds Common Ground With Iranian Partners on Syria, Investment and Nuclear Deal
We will begin with news from Tehran, where today Vladimir Putin held talks with his colleagues from Iran and Azerbaijan. One of the main projects that connects all 3 countries is the creation of the North-South Transport Corridor, from St. Petersburg to Mumbai, India. It's twice as short as the existing shipping sea route through the Suez Canal.
The presidents also discussed the energy industry, fighting terrorism, and economic cooperation. From Iran, our political correspondent, Pavel Zarubin.
The Iranians are known for their hospitality. And the table prepared for the meeting of two countries' delegations has several kinds of oriental sweets. Even minutes before Putin's arrival, Saadabad Palace workers were cleaning the already crystal-clear doors. A particularly important visit for Iran that caused a surge of interest.
The talks were held with Iranian President, Rouhani, and with the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei.
Vladimir Putin: "I want to note that our work with Iran is very productive. We are reaching understanding on the Syrian problem. Thanks to our joint efforts and also, as you know, to Turkey's efforts, the situation is unfolding well with the fight against terrorism there and the negotiation process that's going on in Astana, the latest round of which has just concluded positively. There are still many issues and problem, and not a single one of them can be solved by only one side. Not a single country, nor any single side can resolve this problem by itself".
The situation around Iran is also being discussed in view of President Trump's harsh declarations and his undisguised desire to revise the so-called nuclear deal, which caused outrage even among European leaders, not to mention Iran itself. A jab at President Trump is hanging at the entrance to the former US Embassy.
It's a photo of the US leader, captured in an awkward pose, and Khamenei's quote: "The American elites feel ashamed of having such a president".
A street in the center of Tehran with a very busy traffic. Painted over it is the US flag. The result is that any car or motorcycle that drives here, drives over the US flag. In Iran, people think that US freedom looks like this. The central entrance to the former US embassy, which has been closed for almost 40 years. And next to it is a building, windows of which are hung with posters listing the victims of US politics in different regions of the world.
"The day after tomorrow we will hang these signs even higher on the building".
Russia believes that Iran is fulfilling all the agreements that were reached in the nuclear deal. And therefore, there's nothing in the way of the rapidly growing economic cooperation. The trade turnover has sharply increased.
Today, Rosneft announced big plans: joint projects with the Iranian Oil Company worth $30 billion. And the unpredictability of US policy towards Iran shouldn't become an issue. Will sanctions have an effect on this or not?
Igor Sechin, Rosneft CEO: "We are not politicians, we're working on projects in the economic field. And our consultations with lawyers, including international experts, allow us to make this decision".
At the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, the construction of two more units has begun. The first one, also built under a Russian contract, is supplying the country with power without interruptions.
Alexander Novak, Russia's Minister of Energy: "It produced almost 25 billion kWh and demonstrated the good quality of Russian technologies, especially construction".
The economic potential of the Caspian countries is such, that Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan are holding a trilateral meeting for the second time. But prior to this Putin and Aliyev talked in bilateral format.
Vladimir Putin: "Our relations are special in nature. Without a doubt, this is a strategic partnership. We are well aware of the ties between Azerbaijan and Russia. And I should note that our efforts in developing bilateral contacts are showing results. The increase in trade turnover in the first 9 months is almost 62%".
Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan: "There's a great mutual interest between business structures. And the growth of trade turnover is a sign of the recovery of our economy and mutual interest. Our relations with Russia are of a strategic nature, we are cooperating in all areas, including the humanitarian, economic, energy, transport, and military-technology spheres. Therefore, this is a full-fledged relationship of friends and neighbors".
Azerbaijan, Iran, and Russia believe that the economic advantages of the region should be used more actively, referring to the North-South Transport Corridor with the shipping capacity of millions of tons.
It means big contracts for the Russian Railways. Oleg Belozerov, Russian Railways President: "The figure goes up to 3 billion euros, and that's only the construction part." The amount of goods shipped over this route is expected to triple. Pavel Zarubin, Andrej Melnikov, Yury Lebedev, and Vladimir Ozerov. From Iran — Vesti.