Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated Iran’s entrance into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a Central Asian security alliance that includes China as well.
Recommended Stories
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said they had signed a memorandum of obligations to join the alliance, which is holding a summit this week in Uzbekistan, according to Reuters.
XI TO PUTIN: ‘WE ARE READY TO TEAM UP WITH OUR RUSSIAN COLLEAGUES’
“We are very happy about this,” Putin told Iranian leader Ebrahim Raisi on the sidelines of the SCO summit, according to TASS, a Russian state media outlet. “As we agreed with you, we have done everything for Iran to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Our partners in this organization have supported your application, all that is left is one last formality. It is indeed a formality, and Iran is joining this already serious, large and authoritative international organization.”
The Russian leader, who also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the summit, said that Moscow and Tehran’s stances are growing more closely aligned.
“Interregional ties are developing. We actively cooperate on the international arena and on many [points] our positions are close, or, as diplomats say, coincide,” he noted.
The SCO approved Iran’s application for accession into the alliance, while Putin has sought to strengthen his country’s relationship with Tehran amid his war in Ukraine.
Putin met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran on July 19 during his first trip outside of the former Soviet bloc since the invasion. Since then, Biden administration officials have warned that Russia has purchased drones from Iran and is looking to acquire “hundreds” of them. Ukrainian officials said earlier this week that they shot down an Iranian drone for the first time.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
National Security Council coordinator John Kirby said at the time of Putin’s trip to Iran that it indicated both Putin’s increased isolation on the global scale, as well as their diminished military capabilities as the war drags on.
Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in the eastern part of Ukraine about a week ago that resulted in Russian forces retreating from most of the Kharkiv region. Ukrainian forces were able to liberate more territory than Russia had captured from April to August, though Russia continues to occupy much of the southern part of the country.
