CRUCIAL TALKS

Summary of results of the official visit of Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu to Iran

Tandem Russia-Iran is trying to offer a compromise to save the format of regional security, which is the driving force of the idea of the Russian-Iranian military cooperation.

According to various estimates, the current level of Russian-Iranian military cooperation is 3-5bln dollars, but these figures can change for the better after Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu’s recent visit to Iran.

In the context of bilateral agreements, there are three points.

1. Exchange of experience in the fight against terrorism and in peacekeeping missions.

2. Expanding the experience of entrance of warships in ports of Russia and Iran. This may create an opportunity for joint control over the Caspian Sea. In addition, the Russian ships will be able to military patrol in the strategic waters of the Persian Gulf.

3. Resume supply of C-300 systems to Iran.

Clearly, the success of these agreements may not only be due to effective military-technical cooperation. For it not only good policy is required, but also the development of economic relations.

In recent years, the volume of trade between Russia and Iran significantly reduced. Only in 2012 it declined for 38bln dollars compared to 2011. For two years the volumes of Russian exports to Iran fell by 44%.

As for political relations, from 2010, when the Russian authorities decided to suspend the supply of S-300 systems to Iran and it appealed to the court of the OSCE, the Russian-Iranian relations can hardly be qualified as of high level. Until now, many are of the opinion that this step of the Russian authorities was “a political nod” toward the United States that may not be very far from reality.

RUDIK YARALYAN
Iranolog, PhD