M.K. Bhadrakumar
Russia and Iran, as two immediate neighbours and great powers with a glorious history, had a difficult, chequered relationship through centuries. It goes to the credit of Iranian pragmatism that it learned to live with the consequences of Tsarist Russia’s expansionism rather than getting locked in eternal enmity. In some ways, it also shared the plight of China at the hands of predatory powers. Such bitter experiences inevitably get embedded in a nation’s psyche.
Therefore, the signing of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty between Iran and Russia on January 17 in Moscow is indeed a poignant landmark signifying the mutual acceptance as partners in an equal relationship. It is also an attempt to build guardrails so as to enable a new trajectory of relationship in mutual interests. The Russian President Vladimir Putin aptly called it a “breakthrough”.
The negotiations were protracted and the signing of the document by the two presidents Vladimir Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian itself got postponed. But anyone who has negotiated with Iranians would know they often scramble at the last minute with fresh proposals and are at all times tough negotiators — especially, in strategic areas like energy.
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