TIL Desk/World/Moscow-Russian President Vladimir Putin was today to host Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani for talks that will be closely watched for signs of their next moves in Syria. Rouhani’s first official visit to Russia comes as the two Syrian regime supporters push for ways to end the six-year conflict, having done much to marginalise US influence in peace talks.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said ahead of the trip that the leaders would discuss “regional issues especially the Syrian crisis, solutions to end it quickly,” as well as ways to counter “terrorism and extremism.”
Rouhani — accompanied by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh and other high-ranking officials — is expected to sign more than 10 economic cooperation agreements with Russia, according to Iranian state media. Late on Monday Rouhani met Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, with the Iranian president saying he hoped his visit would mark a “new turning point” in relations, Russian state media reported.
