Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met Thursday on the sidelines of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit in Turkmenistan to consolidate their strategic alliance amid the crisis in West Asia.

Putin said relations between Russia and Iran are advancing positively, and reported that trade between the two countries grew more than 21 percent in 2025, a trend he said continued during the first seven months of 2026. He also said Russia is willing to do everything possible to resolve the current situation in West Asia, and stated that Iran is making real efforts to end the conflict, referring to the war of aggression against Tehran that the United States and Israel started on February 28.

RELATED: Russia Warns Lithuania Over Potential Nuclear Weapons Deployment

Meanwhile, Pezeshkian said Tehran has not left the dialogue table despite U.S. attacks, noting that every time Iran speaks with the United States, it is attacked again, but that it will not withdraw from negotiations. He said Iran has already presented proposals and introduced modifications to initiatives formulated by Washington, and that both sides plan to address and finalize these approaches through existing interlocutors.

💬 President #Putin to @drpezeshkian during their meeting in Turkmenistan:

We know that Iran is making concrete efforts to end the conflict that broke out in the region through no fault of its own.

🤝 Russia is ready to help you resolve this situation.https://t.co/Aa6picbXkF pic.twitter.com/CZ5MBQ8mo7

— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) October 8, 2026

The Iranian president thanked Putin for his positions against unilateralism and his support for Iran in international forums. He also stressed the expansion of relations between Tehran and Moscow in the commercial, economic and humanitarian spheres, expressed satisfaction with bilateral cooperation, and emphasized Iran’s willingness to deepen it within the framework of the joint strategic program.

From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.