Russian expert: Strengthening relations between the Assad regime and Iran will not affect Russian interests

An expert at the Russian International Affairs Council, Kirill Semyonov, stressed that strengthening economic relations between Iran and the regime will not affect Russian interests in Syria, pointing to the existence of a Russian-Iranian agreement on this.

“I think that all economic issues between Russia and Iran were shared, so Moscow knows what the Russian side can and cannot demand,” Semyonov said.
He added that all issues that could in some way affect economic competition were settled in the past.

He pointed out that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian’s statements about intensifying economic cooperation do not explain the possibility of a danger to Russian interests.

Abdullahian announced that Syria and Iran are “proceeding to lay down a road map for developing economic and trade cooperation and confronting the unjust embargo imposed by the enemies.”

He pointed out that “the serious cooperation between private sector owners and Iranian and Syrian merchants” was one of the main issues that the two ministers focused on.

The Iranian minister stressed the importance of the role that Syria and Iraq play in the region, and said in this regard: “All security and political arrangements in the region are subject to the participation and presence of all regional countries, including the Syrian Arab Republic.”

He added, “In this context, we stress the importance of the role of Iraq and Syria in supporting the new regional facilities in all economic, security and political fields.”
Syria is a market for the export of various Iranian products, and it ranks 14th in the Iranian export markets, according to the “Trade Development Organization of Iran (TPO).”

Russia and Iran share areas of influence, underground wealth and investments in areas nominally controlled by the Assad regime, as part of the two countries’ efforts to recover part of the bill for their military and political intervention to save Bashar al-Assad since 2011.