Besides sustaining Russia’s military campaign to seize large swaths of Ukrainian territory, Putin’s other key goal is to win support for his efforts to avoid the impact of Western sanctions. The Russian leader has often denounced the sanctions as a declaration of economic war by the West and is desperately looking for ways to circumvent the measures. As The Telegraph reported in March, Iran – which has years of experience evading Western sanctions – has already offered to help Russia sell its oil on international markets using the secretive banking and financial system Tehran already has. to avoid Western sanctions. More recently, there have been signs of closer military cooperation between Tehran and Moscow, with US officials reporting that Iran has offered to provide Russia with hundreds of drones to support the war effort in Ukraine. In return, Iran will seek Russian support for its operations in Syria, where Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is consolidating its military presence to threaten Israel’s security. Russian officials are certainly keen to stress the importance of Putin’s meetings with the Iranian leadership. “Contact with Khamenei is very important,” confirmed Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy adviser. “A dialogue of trust has developed between them on the most important issues of the bilateral and international agenda.” Trying to get Turkey on board will be a more significant challenge for the Russian leader, not least because Mr. Erdogan has played a key role in helping Ukrainian forces resist Russian attempts to take over their country. The Turkish-made Bayraktar TR2 drone had a devastating impact on the battlefield, with its lightweight, laser-guided bombs decimating Russian forces.
