London: Russia and Iran have signed a 20-year energy cooperation agreement as the conflict in Ukraine has hiked fuel prices across the United States and European countries. The two sides also discussed extending the second and third phases of Iran’s Russian-backed Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. Russia is also expected to play a vital role in setting up Iran’s petrochemical industry. However, the cooperation between Russia and Iran has been widely criticized in the media as a blow to the Biden administration.
Last week, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak visited Iran. A joint trade and economic cooperation meeting between the leaders of Iran and Russia was held in the capital Tehran. In the talks, Iran proposed a barter trade with Russia. Russia has not announced its decision. But different information is emerging about the Russian Deputy Prime Minister’s visit to Iran. Russia has announced $5 billion in funding for Iran’s energy, agriculture and transportation projects. The two sides agreed to increase trade between the two countries to 40-40 billion by 2025. This will boost economic and banking cooperation between Russia and Iran in fuel, gas, petrochemicals and nuclear energy, the UK newspaper claimed. This includes a 20-year energy cooperation agreement, the newspaper said.
Iran’s President, Ibrahim Raisi, raised the matter earlier this year on a visit to Russia. Last week, it was sealed. The news came when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was on a Middle East tour. According to media sources, a collaboration between Russia and Iran under US sanctions is a major setback for the Biden administration.
A few hours ago, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov visited the Middle East. The Russian Foreign Minister attended the GCC summit in the Middle East. He also held separate discussions with the Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain. Earlier, Saudi Arabia and the UAE had avoided holding talks with US President Joe Biden. In such a scenario, the talks between Russia and the Gulf countries prove unsettling to the Biden administration.
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