Putin And Iranian President Pezeshkian Meet In Turkmenistan

Russian President Vladimir Putin / Sergey Bobylev / POOL / TASS

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian for the first time today, as relations between the two sanctioned countries heat up and the Middle East prepare to face Israel's retaliation for Tehran's biggest missile attack last week.

The meeting at a regional summit in Ashgabat, the capital city of Central Asia, Turkmenistan, has also taken place with a more closely military relations background between Iran and the Russian military in recent years, especially since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Iran has supplied thousands of 'Shahed' attack drones to Russia. According to US officials, they built a drone factory in Russia.

Iran also recently delivered short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for use in the fight against Ukraine, CNN reported in September, marking a significant increase in the country's support for Moscow.

"Since Ukraine, the two countries have become more equal in terms of mutual need and relying on each other on certain issues. In my opinion, this is seen as beneficial to Iran," said Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, senior analyst and associate fellow at the British think tank Chatham House., October 11th.

Moscow and Tehran have a de facto military alliance in the region to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Analysts say the countries have found common ground as they are increasingly isolated due to global sanctions.