Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The meeting reportedly included discussion on the construction of pipelines to deliver Russian natural gas to Iran.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin welcomed Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei to the Kremlin on Thursday, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.
The face-to-face sit-down followed an earlier phone chat where both sides pledged to strengthen their strategic partnership, Iranian outlet Tasnim reported.
According to reports from news agencies in Russia and Iran, the meeting included extensive talks on constructing gas pipelines to deliver Russian natural gas to Iran and discussion over the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trilateral Ukraine talks next week
The timing raised plenty of eyebrows across world capitals. Within days, Russian negotiators are set to join working-level talks with American and Ukrainian teams in Abu Dhabi. Moscow appears keen to lock in regional allies before those delicate conversations start.
Earlier peace efforts collapsed under heavy fighting and renewed air strikes. Still, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that backchannel conversations have offered a rare glimpse into Moscow’s thinking.
Leaders from Finland and Norway recently spoke directly with Putin to pass along Kyiv’s negotiating points, United24 Media reported last week. The Nordic leaders walked away cautiously optimistic.
“Basically, they conveyed that they had the impression the Russians are serious about the meeting in Abu Dhabi,” Zelenskyy stated.
History over peace
Yet talking to the Russian president is never simple. During that call, Putin reportedly skipped any immediate ceasefire talk and gave a 90-minute history lecture instead, according to the Financial Times.
This account of the phone call, however, comes from anonymous sources and has been rejected by Northern leaders.
Meanwhile, finding common ground on security remains tricky. Kyiv wants clear international guarantees to protect its borders, but Moscow is demanding similar promises. “We have made this request to the Americans and Europeans. And Russia is raising the same issue, saying that it also needs security guarantees,” Zelenskyy stated.
A planned coordination session in Brussels with NATO and European partners had to be paused when US officials stayed home to handle Middle East flare-ups. Everything now hinges on whether Washington can keep the upcoming round on track. With rival camps mapping out their red lines, the road to Abu Dhabi looks steeper than ever.
