MOSCOW (Reuters) - Iran's president met
Russia's prime minister on Monday in a bid to
develop a warming relationship that has been
greatly strengthened by both sides' involvement
on the same side of the war in Syria.
Beginning a visit to Moscow, President Hassan
Rouhani told Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev: "I
hope that a new turning-point in the development
of our relations will be reached."
Iranian arms purchases and Russian investment
in the Iranian energy sector are likely talking
points for Rouhani, less than two months before
Iran's May 19 presidential election.
Iranian media say he will discuss several
economic agreements - potentially valuable
prizes for the moderate leader, who is keen to
show his people that Iran is benefiting from its
2015 deal with world powers to rein back its
nuclear programme in returning for an easing of
international sanctions.
"Rouhani desperately wants to finalise at least
one deal based on new petroleum contracts
before the election," said Reza Mostafavi
Tabatabaei, an energy analyst and president of
London-based ENEXD, a firm involved in the oil
and gas equipment business in the Middle East.
"Western companies like (France's) Total are
waiting for U.S. approval before any investment
in Iran, so Rouhani’s only chance is Russian
companies that might sign a deal before the
election."
As key allies of Syrian President Bashar al-
Assad, Russia and Iran have played decisive
roles in the past 18 months to turn the tide of
the Syrian conflict in his favour.
When Russian jets used an airbase in Iran to
launch attacks against militant targets in Syria
last summer it was the first time Moscow had
made a military deployment there since it was an
occupying force in the 1940s. C