Russian President Vladimir Putin began a visit to Turkmenistan on Friday, speaking at an international forum with Central Asian leaders and Iran’s president.
The Kremlin said Putin would discuss the situation at Middle East with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the conference in Ashgabat, the Turkmen capital.
Moscow and Tehran signed a $1.7bn (£1.3bn) deal for Iran to export drones to Russia after Putin’s invasion Ukraine in 2022, and the United States also believes it has transferred short-range ballistic missiles.
The conference will bring together other regional leaders, including Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and leaders of other Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
In his opening speech at the forum, Putin repeated once again that he wanted to build “a new world order” with Russiafriends and partners of , according to a video shared by the Kremlin.
In addition to his meeting with the Iranian leader, Putin is expected to speak with Turkmen President Serdar Berdymukhamedov.
Berdymukhamedov, 43, was elected in March 2022 to succeed his father, Gurbanguly, who had ruled the gas-rich country since 2006.
Turkmenistan has remained largely isolated under autocratic rulers since becoming independent following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.