It is quite obvious that Russia cannot substitute the West and in particular European countries with someone else. It is impossible for historical and cultural reasons, the abundance of industrial relations, geographical proximity and so on. Moscow can however substantially weaken such dependency through the strengthening of political, military, financial and economic relations with other countries which are friendlier and less susceptible to pressure from Washington. Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) holds a special place amongst countries friendly to the Russian government, and strategic dialogue is being actively developed with it.
It should be mentioned that the visit to Moscow at the end of January 2015 by the special representative, the foreign policy adviser of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Akbar Velayati, was highly valuable to the development of Russian-Iranian relations. During this visit Ali Akbar Velayati met with President Vladimir Putin and delivered a personal message from the Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
Beside him, the Russian representatives during the meeting with President Vladimir Putin were: the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov and Minister of Energy Alexander Novak. It was not accidental that the latter was present. He was instructed to explore the possibility of new, “non-primary” forms of economic partnership between our countries amidst the collapse of world oil prices, calling into question the practicability of “the big oil contract” between Moscow and Tehran (“Iranian oil in exchange for Russian goods”).
The main issue was preparing a new agenda for Russian-Iranian talks. In the economic sphere, it involves the realization of 5 major ready-to-implement projects: the construction of two new reactors at the Bushehr nuclear power plant, the creation of an “energy bridge” through Azerbaijan territory, the reconstruction of the Iranian railway, as well as a significant expansion of cooperation in the spheres of gas and agricultural products supply. This will partially replace Russian losses from financial and economic sanctions imposed against it by the West.
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