Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has announced, as Tehran and Moscow step up consultations amid the standoff with the United States and Israel.

Araghchi said in a statement on his Telegram channel that the talks would follow his meeting last week with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Tehran, where the two sides discussed bilateral relations and regional and international issues in detail. "These talks and consultations will continue next week in Moscow, with the presence of the presidents of the two countries," he said.

A gas summit sidelines meeting

Iran's ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, said Pezeshkian is due to arrive in Moscow on Tuesday, 27 October, to attend the 8th summit of Gas Exporting Countries Forum member states, with the Putin meeting expected on the sidelines. The agenda, according to Iranian reports, covers economic cooperation and geopolitical issues, including implementing joint agreements and strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership the two countries signed in January 2025.

The two presidents last met at a Caspian summit in Turkmenistan on 8 October, and previously during a summit in Kyrgyzstan in September. Lavrov's Tehran visit was his first since the Middle East war began in February. Araghchi has described cooperation between the two countries as closer than ever, while Putin said in early October that Russia was ready to help mediate an end to the conflict. Talks between Washington and Tehran remain stalled, with the United States and Israel threatening renewed strikes.

Source: New Kerala / ANI, 24 October 2026; The World Opinion, 24 October 2026, reporting Tasnim and Ambassador Jalali.