Russian top official's Iran visit - opportunity to converge Tehran and Moscow

Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev plans to visit Iran, aiming to bridge Tehran and Moscow’s positions vis-à-vis various issues. The visit will allow for further discussion of a phased approach to solving issues concerning Iran’s nuclear program, experts say.

"The countries are attempting to converge on their positions where possible, and designate any ‘red tape’ where views do not align," wrote the president of the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, Yevgeny Satanovsky, in an e-mail to Trend.

"This is a normal working situation. Not ideal, but rather positive - especially in such a sensitive security issue. In addition to Russia and Iran’s interests, the interests of U.S., China, the EU, the Arab world, Israel, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the post-Soviet states of Central Asia, the Caucasus, India, Japan, South Korea and several countries in Africa and Latin America are also involved in Iranian relations".

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev arrived on an official visit to Iran on Aug. 15 at the invitation of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili.

During the visit, the Russian representative was scheduled to meet with Jalili, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and other officials.

Satanovsky said that the main issue is Russian-Iranian cooperation, its success in terms of security, and fighting drug-trafficking from Afghanistan.

"Moscow and Tehran are mutually interested in preventing drug trafficking. Relations between our countries are extremely fruitful in this field", he said.

The Russian expert said that another common issue between these countries may be opposition to radical terrorist groups such as Sunni-led ‘al-Qaeda’, to which "Shia Iran is the same enemy as Russia".

"Finally, the countries must consider the Syrian situation, which is not only a long-term partner of Russia, but also an Iranian ally. However, Moscow and Iran are unlikely to agree over this issue", he said.

Moreover, Satanovsky said that the two countries are interested in the safety of the Busheher nuclear power plant, as well as the situation around Iran's nuclear program.

Bushehr is the first nuclear power plant in Iran and throughout the Middle East. The plant began to be built by the German Kraftwerk Union in 1974. In 1980 the contract was terminated during the Western German government’s accession to the U.S. embargo on supplying equipment to Iran.

On Aug. 25, 1992, Russia and Iran signed an agreement to continue construction of the nuclear power plant. In January 1995, a contract to complete work on the first power unit was signed, and in 1998 construction management was transferred to AtomStroyExport.
Initially, construction of the station was planned for completion in 1999. Later, the deadlines were repeatedly postponed due to financial and technological challenges.

As for the confrontation between Iran, Israel, and the Arab Gulf monarchies, which seriously destabilized the regional situation, Satanovsky alleges that Tehran is unlikely to concede with Moscow.

Iran’s expert on nuclear issues and the Caucasus, Hassan Behishtipur, said that Patrushev's visit will be a new turning point in Iranian-Russian relations.

"The peculiarity of the visit is the scheduled discussion of a phased approach that Russia has recently proposed to solve the Iranian nuclear program", Behishtipur, a member of the Trend Expert Council, told Trend by telephone from Tehran.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in mid July that a step-by-step approach should be used to end international doubts over Iran's nuclear program.

Lavrov said that each time Tehran answered a question or concern of the IAEA to satisfaction, the country should be rewarded by freezing some sanctions against Iran and shortening their volume.

Behishtipur said that for several years, until 2010, Russia supported U.S. policy on Iran's nuclear program, but tried to reduce the volume of sanctions imposed against Iran and to ease their impact.

"But the new plan proposed by Russia, shows that Moscow's present policy toward Iran's nuclear program differs from that of the United States", he said. "This is a positive move by Russia, and Patrushev’s visit to Iran will provide an opportunity to conduct a more extensive discussion of this plan with Iranian officials."

Following the two-day talks with Jalili, Patrushev said that Tehran welcomes Russia's proposal for resolving the situation around the Iranian nuclear issue.

Jalili in turn, said that Iran and the "5 +1" (the five permanent UN Security Council members - Britain, China, Russia, USA, France, and Germany) can successfully continue negotiations based on Russia’s plan.

T. Jafarov contributed to this article.


/Trend/