Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his speech at the International Forum “The Interconnection of Times and Civilizations – the basis of peace and development” dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Turkmen poet and thinker Magtymguly Fragi in Ashgabat on October 11, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

President Vladimir Putin began a visit to Turkmenistan on Friday (October 11, 2024), speaking at an international forum with Central Asian leaders and the President of Iran.

The Kremlin said Mr. Putin will discuss the situation in the Middle East with Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the conference in the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat.

Moscow and Tehran signed a $1.7 billion deal for Iran to export drones to Russia after Mr. Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, and the U.S. also believes it has transferred short-range ballistic missiles.

The conference is being attended by other regional leaders including Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and the heads of the other Central Asian nations, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

In his opening remarks at the forum, Putin repeated again that he wants to build “a new world order” with Russia’s friends and partners, according to video shared by the Kremlin.

As well as meeting the Iranian leader, Putin is expected to hold talks with the Turkmen president, Serdar Berdymukhamedov.

Berdymukhamedov, 43, was elected in March 2022 to succeed his father, Gurbanguly, who had run the gas-rich country since 2006.

Turkmenistan has remained largely isolated under autocratic rulers since it became independent following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

The President presented the names of the new 19-member cabinet including one woman. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian presented his Cabinet to parliament on Sunday (August 11, 2024), notably including a woman and a Western-friendly diplomat as the country’s Foreign Minister.

Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf announced the names of the 19-member Cabinet presented by the President during an Assembly session broadcast live on state television.

For the post of Foreign Minister, Mr. Pezeshkian has named Abbas Araghchi, a 61-year-old career diplomat who has led nuclear negotiations since 2013.

Known for his openness to the West, he played a pivotal role in the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers that was torpedoed three years later by the United States’ decision to withdraw from it.

Mr. Pezeshkian has also nominated one woman, Farzaneh Sadegh, who would become only the second Iranian woman to hold a ministerial post since the Islamic Republic was established in 1979. The 48-year-old is set to head the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.

The reformist President has named as his future Interior Minister General Eskandar Momeni, a 60-year-old police commander and former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

General Aziz Nasirzadeh, a former commander of the Iranian Air Force and deputy chief of staff of the armed forces since 2021, is set to take the helm of the Defence Ministry.

The President has chosen as his future Oil Minister Mohsen Paknezhad, a 58-year-old executive director with a long career in the country’s energy industry.

Parliament is set to begin reviewing candidates on Monday (August 11, 2024) and submit them to a vote by lawmakers starting Saturday (August 10, 2024).

In late July, Mr. Pezeshkian had announced that he would “consult and coordinate” with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all matters of state, to present the final list of ministers. In Iran, the vote of confidence is performed by each minister individually, rather than the government as a whole.

On Saturday (August 10, 2024), the president kept in his position the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami, who has held the post since 2021.

Mr. Eslami was placed on a sanctions list by the United States and the European Union in 2008, when he was deputy defence minister.

Mr. Pezeshkian, who took office in late July, had advocated during the election campaign to open Iran up to the world, vowing to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement and ease sanctions on the Islamic republic.

But the president has limited powers, and is tasked with implementing state policies outlined by Ayatollah Khamenei, 85, who has held the post since 1989.