MOSCOW: Russia and Iran signed a new treaty on Friday underpinning their economic and military cooperation, in what both sides cast as a major milestone in their relations.
Moscow has looked to the Islamic republic as a strategic ally since sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022, worrying Western officials who see both as malign actors on the world stage.
The two sides agreed to help each other counter common “security threats”, according to a copy of the text published by the Kremlin. But they stopped short of a mutual defence pact like the one signed between Russia and North Korea last year.
They also agreed that if either side was subjected to aggression, the other would not provide “assistance to the aggressor”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian, who signed the agreement together at a ceremony in the Kremlin, both hailed the accord as a new chapter in their ties.
“This truly breakthrough document is aimed at creating the necessary conditions for the stable and sustainable development of Russia and Iran and our entire Eurasian region,” Putin said.
Pezeshkian said the pact would “open a new chapter in relations between Iran and Russia in all fields, especially in the field of economic cooperation.”
The two sides agreed to “support trade and economic cooperation in all areas”, a key point as both sides ramp up trade in the face of heavy Western sanctions on their energy industry.
OCCUPIED AL-QUDS: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to “open the gates of hell” in Gaza if...
MUNICH, Germany: Finnish President Alexander Stubb on Sunday said that talks between the United States and Russia over...
BEIRUT, Lebanon: Lebanese group Hezbollah on Sunday urged the Lebanese government to reverse a decision blocking...
VILLACH, Austria: A stabbing that left a teenager dead and five other people injured in southern Austria was an...
PARIS: The French presidency said on Sunday that European countries should do more for their collective security,...
OCCUPIED AL-QUDS: Israel´s defence ministry said on Sunday that a shipment of “heavy” US-made bombs arrived...
VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis sat out mass and his traditional Angelus prayer from hospital on Sunday, with a Vatican...
KYIV, Ukraine: Ukraine´s Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday 100,000 people were without heating in the southern city...