The emergence of new political formats is usually accompanied by mistrust of the critically minded expert community. However, the emergence of the Russia-Azerbaijan–Iran bloc spanning the western coast of the Caspian Sea could become a powerful impetus for the interpenetration of the three countries’ economies and for institutionalizing political dialog. Are the summit participants themselves interested in ...
... policy. We met with Alexander Knyazev, Senior Research Fellow at the RAS Institute for Oriental Studies, to discuss how Moscow can combine cooperation with Iran with its Eurasian integration efforts.
Why was it Tehran and not Moscow that launched the Iran-EEU FTA initiative?
I can see two reasons. First of all, for Russia and other EEU states, Iran is significantly underestimated as a partner. Tehran is definitely on the backburner in Moscow's foreign and trade policies. In most cases, Russia views Iran in on ad hoc basis, using it as a tool in disputes with the ...