Putin and Erdogan in Tehran for a multi-stakes tripartite summit

This combination of images created on July 17, 2022 shows on the right a file photo taken on June 30, 2022 of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg, in the center a photo taken on June 11, 2022 of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran, and a file photo taken on June 30, 2022 of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Madrid on the left.

AFP - GABRIEL BOUYS,-,MIKHAIL METZEL

Text by: RFI Follow

3 mins

His travels abroad have been rare since the start of the war in Ukraine: this is only the second time that he has left Russia.

Vladimir Putin is in Tehran this Tuesday, July 19.

A visit to its Iranian ally to meet the leaders of the Islamic Republic and participate in a tripartite summit on Syria with Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan.

But another war will also be invited into the discussions: Ukraine. 

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For two months, the Turkish head of state has regularly announced an imminent operation against the Kurdish forces of the People's Protection Units - the YPG - between the towns of Tel Rifaat and Manbij, in northern Syria.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan promises to establish there “

”.

The YPG is considered by Ankara to be a terrorist organization because of their links with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The Turkish president assures that he does not need "

" to attack Syria, reports our correspondent in Istanbul,

.

In reality, this operation - like the three others that have preceded it since August 2016 - cannot be carried out without some form of agreement with Russia, the Syrian regime's first ally and dominant military force in the area designated by Tayyip Erdogan, located west of the Euphrates.

Turkey must also ensure Iran's tacit agreement, due to the presence of pro-Iranian militias around Tel Rifaat, a region north of Aleppo.

But for the time being, neither Moscow nor Tehran have so far given their support to the battle plan of the Turkish president.

Russia and Iran have been reluctant, fearing that further Turkish intervention could lead to a “ 

 ”.

The question of the export of Ukrainian grain

Tuesday's tripartite summit will be an opportunity for the Turkish president to meet with his Russian counterpart for the first time since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Turkey, a member of NATO, has tried to maintain contact with the two countries, offering to mediate on several occasions.

Putin and Erdogan will discuss the issue of mechanisms for exporting Ukrainian cereals.

Negotiations involving Moscow, kyiv, Ankara and the UN are also to take place in the coming days in Turkey, after progress in the talks on July 13. 

The Russian Ministry of Defense indicated on Friday that a "final document" will be ready shortly to allow the export of grain from Ukraine.

According to the Kremlin's diplomatic adviser, Yuri Ouchakov, a coordination center must also open in Istanbul to allow these exports via the Black Sea.

The agreement negotiated through the UN aims to bring out through the Black Sea some 20 million tonnes of grain blocked in Ukrainian silos because of the offensive led by Russia in Ukraine.

Will the Kremlin buy Iranian drones?

Another bilateral issue on the sidelines of this tripartite summit, according to the United States, is Russia's purchase of hundreds of drones from Iran.

Information denied by Tehran and on which the Kremlin did not wish to comment.

But this possible sale is quite credible, believes Vincent Tourret, researcher at the Foundation for Strategic Research: Iran has technology that Russia lacks, he judges.

Iranian drones are the Toyota of drones, a low cost object, easy to use and quickly massifiable, which can indeed interest Russia.

The Russians have observation drones, they had started developing and producing the Orion, but the Russians had fallen behind in creating a drone that could both observe and strike, and that's what the Iranians can provide for them.

Vincent Tourret, research fellow at the FRS

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• Iran

• Turkey

• Vladimir Poutine

• Russia

• Recep Tayyip Erdogan

• Ukraine

• Syria

• Ebrahim Raisi