Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during a visit to Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, on 29 June.

This will be Putin’s first visit abroad since the start of the military invasion of Ukraine.

Ahead of his meeting with Raisi, Putin will travel to Tajikistan to meet with Tajik President Imomali Rakhmon in Dushanbe on 28 June.

Last week, the Iranian president welcomed Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, to Tehran for talks on boosting trade and energy cooperation.

During their conversation, Raisi emphasized the need to end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible and expressed Tehran’s willingness to help the two nations find a diplomatic solution. He also warned against the expansionist agenda of NATO.

Tehran and Moscow both have significant oil and gas reserves, but their energy industries are constrained by US sanctions, which limit their ability to export their output.

According to recent reports in Arabic media, Russian officials visited Iran secretly and publicly in recent months to “benefit from its experience in facing sanctions.”

Last month, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak visited Tehran for discussions on the possibility of linking Iran and Russia’s national alternative card payment systems, as major companies such as Visa and Mastercard have blocked both countries due to western sanctions.

Raisi and Putin met in Moscow back in January for a Russian-Iranian summit to boost the bilateral and economic ties of both countries.

During an address to the Russian Duma, Raisi criticized US hegemony, saying that “the US has reached its weakest point today, as the strength of the politically independent countries has begun a stage of growth and development.”

On 27 June, Iran submitted an application to become a member of the BRICS economic bloc, of which Russia is a member.

Speaking to a virtual summit of the BRICS Business Forum on 24 June, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi expressed his country’s readiness to share its vast capabilities and potential to help the bloc attain its goals.