S SUMMER SCHOOLS EXPERT COMMENTARIES S GUEST LECTURES CENARIOS T S S TABLE NTERNATIONAL RELATIONS C I S NALYSIS AND FORECASTING FOREIGN POLICY ISCUSSIONS A T D C REFERENCE BOOKS DIALOGUE ETWORK SCIENCE WORKING PAPERS DUCATION N PROJE OUND E REPORTS NALYSIS AND FORECASTING URITY R A S ATION C C PROJE E ORGANIZATION OMPETITIONS C NTERNATIONAL ACTIVITY CONFERENCES DU I E S S S FOREIGN POLICY TALENT POOL CS S EDUCATION POOL POLITI EPORTS OUND TABLES ION R R ENARIO GLOBAL POLITICS ETWORK C NTERNATIONAL I N IVIL OCIETY INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS S C S LOBAL RELATION G TALENT SS EFERENCE BOOKS NTERNATIONAL Y R I RUSSIANY Y S C S ORGANIZATIONS DUCATION C INTERENATIONAL E U SECURITY C RELATION AFFAIRS COUNCIL SUMMER C POLI SCHOOLS IALOGUE IETY D TING ONAL OUND I R GUEST LECTURES C SC O S TABLES I TY IGRATION EPORTS I R S A V ARTNERSHIP OREIGN P I NTERNATIONAL IBRARY OADMAPS XPERT R F E I S ONFEREN IPLOMA D M C L URITY GLOBAL NTERNAT MIGRATION COMMENTARIES IVIL C I ACT S ILATERAL NTHOLOGIE C POOL D SCIENCE C REPORTS I BOOK E ISCUSSIONS INTERNSHIPS B A D IPLOMA E WEBSITE PARTNERSHIP INTERNSHIPS S S Y C TALENT C DIALOGUE GLOBAL NTHOLOGIESGLOBAL Y A C S D POLI FORE SCIENCE CONFERENCES POLI Y S C ITE EFEREN S S NALYSISSCIENCE IGRATION A IBRARY OADMAP EB ENARIO OREIGN R IPLOMA C F R L M OREIGN D S W NALY AND FORECASTING F S DIALOGUE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS A AND S NETWORK INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS E CLUB MEETINGS DIALOGUE DIPLOMACY PROJECTS HOOL S S C IALOGUE S T D C URITY UMMER ITE E S HIP C S OMMENTARIE TURE IVIL OCIETY C S C S EBSITE E REPORT C W C HIP EB S PROJE IGRATION LE S SC S EXPERT COMMENTARIES OREIGN POLICY F IEN T W M RELATION S XPERT IPLOMACY E D UE S EDUCATION NESS G ARTNER ETWORK SC NTERN S ANALYSIS AND I E I N P IBRARY RUSSIA-IRAN PARTNERSHIP: FORECASTING C URITY L ONFEREN CIVIL SOCIETY C E S IEN S C NTHOLOGIES S S A AN OVGERLOBALVIEW POLITI ANDCS PROSPECTS C S ILATERAL CLUB MEETINGS S COMPETITIONS HIP B US HIP S ROUND TABLES S EPORT FOR THE FUTURE S ROADMAPS WORKING PAPERS Russian inteRnational affaiRs CounCil (RiaC) E IGRATION PAPER ANALYSIS AND FORECASTING E C 1, B. Yakimanka street, 119180, Moscow, Russia R B CENARIOS ARTNERSHIP S C P LOBAL S Tel.: +7 (495) 225 6283 REFERENCE BOOKS S OMPETITION IBRARY ORKING L IEN ARTNER M Fax: +7 (495) 225 6284 NTERN S S G C W I IBRARY S XPERT COMMENTARIES P OMMENTARIE E L ION E–mail: [email protected] SC C www.russiancouncil.ru 29 / 2016 SS INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION S S U S ORGANIZATION REFERENCE BOOKS EDUCATION IETY SC C ISCUSSIONS I LOBAL D OADMAP SUMMER SCHOOLS XPERT OMPETITION UEST LECTURES IVIL O G ILATERAL HOOL NTERNATIONAL RELATIONS I E S C C D G R MEETING E ANTHOLOGIES B RELATION WORKING PAPERS C NTHOLOGIE UMMER ONFEREN LOBAL POLITICS IEN G LUB C NTERNATIONAL S SC C S I A FOREIGN POLICY TALENT POOL REFERENCE BOOKS C Report-29_Cover.indd 2 12.12.2016 11:00:50 RUSSIAN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL INSTITUTE FOR IRAN-EURASIA STUDIES MOSCOW 2016 Russian International Affairs Council Institute for Iran-Eurasia Studies Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief: I. Ivanov, RAS Corresponding Member, Dr. of History Authors: B. Amirahmadian, Ph.D. in Political Geography, H. Azizi, Ph.D. in Central Asia and Caucasus Studies, S. Demidenko, Ph.D. in History, E. Dunayeva, Ph.D. in History, V. Evseev, Ph.D. in Technical Science, I. Ivanov, RAS Corresponding Member, Dr. of History, J. Karami, Ph.D. in International Relations, A. Kortunov, Ph.D. in History, D. Kiani, Ph.D. in International Relations, A. Knyazev, Dr. of History, N. Kozhanov, Ph.D. in International Economics and Economic Security, G. Lukyanov, N. Mamedova, Ph.D. in Economics, R. Mousavi, Ph.D. in Political Science, F. Parand, Ph.D. in Commercial Management, M.K. Sajjadpour, Ph.D. in Political Science, Zh. Shakibi, Ph.D. in Comparative Politics, M. Sanaei, Ph.D. in Political Science, M. Shariatinia, Ph.D. in International Relations, M. Shoori, Ph.D. in International Relations, V. Sazhin, Ph.D. in History, M. Tishehyar, Ph.D. in International Relations, P. Topychkanov, Ph.D. in History, P. Zyuzin, Ph.D. in Geography Copy editors: I. Timofeev, Ph.D. in Political Science; M. Shoori, Ph.D. in International Relations; T. Makhmutov, Ph.D. in Political Science; E. Alekseenkova, Ph.D. in Political Science; R. Mamedov, V. Morozov Amirahmadian B. Russia-Iran Partnership: an Overview and Prospects for the Future: Report No. 29/2016 / [B. Amirahmadian, etc.] [I.S.Ivanov (Editor-in-Chief)]; Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC). Moscow, NPMP RIAC, 2016. 160 pages. Authors and editors are listed on back of the title page. ISBN 978-5-9909275-3-7 The Report is prepared by the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) in partnership with the Institute for Iran-Eurasia Studies (IRAS) as part of the project “Russia-Iran Relations on the Modern Stage”. The goal of the publication is to present the views of Russian and Iranian experts on the main areas of Russia- Iran cooperation, to reveal the commonality and differences in their approaches to common threats and challenges. The Report discusses Russian and Iranian vision of global governance and role of great powers, cooperation in the Middle East region, Central Asia and Afghanistan, trade and economic relations, common transport projects and interaction in international organizations such as SCO, EAEU, SREB initiative etc. The opinions stated in the Report reflect personal views and research stance of the authors and do not necessarily state or reflect those of RIAC. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the Russian International Affairs Council and the Institute for Iran-Eurasia Studies except in the case of brief quotations in news articles, critical articles, or reviews. Please direct inquiries to: Russian International Affairs Council, 119180, Moscow, Bolshaya Yakimanka Street, 1, Russia, [email protected]; The Institute for Iran-Eurasia Studies (IRAS), Unit 6, No. 2, Amini Alley, Vali-e-Asr St., Tehran, I.R. IRAN, [email protected]. The full text is published on RIAC’s website. You can download the report or leave a comment via this direct link russiancouncil.ru/en/report29 © Translation into to English of RIAC experts’ texts, drafting and design. NPMP RIAC, 2016 Table of Contents Foreword by I. Ivanov, RIAC President, RAS Corresponding Member 4 Foreword by H.E. M. Sanaei, Ambassador Extraodinary and Plenipotentiary of Islamic Republic of Iran in the Russian Federation 6 Section I. Development of Iran-Russia Strategic Partnership 9 Topic 1. Iran-Russia Strategic Partnership at the New Stage: What Could We Propose to Each Other? (Vladimir Sazhin / Jahangir Karami) 9 Topic 2. Iranian and Russian Perspectives on the Global System (Pyotr Topychkanov / Mohammad Kazem Sajjadpour) 29 Topic 3. Iran, Russia and the West (Andrey Kortunov / Zhand Shakibi) 37 Section II. Security Threats and Possibilities for Cooperation 50 Topic 4. Iranian and Russian Views on the Situation in the Middle East: How Do We See the Future of the Region? (Nikolay Kozhanov / Mahmoud Shoori) 50 Topic 5. Common Security Challenges and Prospects for Cooperation (Vladimir Evseev / Davood Kiani) 66 Topic 6. Cooperation between Iran and Russia in Struggling Terrorism and Religious Extremism (Sergey Demidenko / Rasoul Mousavi) 78 Section III. Russia-Iran Cooperation on Afghanistan and Central Asia 91 Topic 7. Cooperation between Iran and Russia in Afghanistan: Possibilities and Constraints (Grigoriy Lukyanov / Mandana Tishehyar) 91 Topic 8. Cooperation between Iran and Russia in Central Asia: Possibilities and Constraints (Alexander Knyazev / Hamidreza Azizi) 102 Section IV. Possibilities and Prospects for Economic Cooperation 113 Topic 9. Development of Regional and Trans-Regional Transportation Routes: Perspectives for Partnership (Pavel Zyuzin / Bahram Amirahmadian) 113 Topic 10. Trade and Economic Relations between Iran and Russia: Potential and Achievements (Nina Mamedova / Farhad Parand) 132 Topic 11. Prospects for Cooperation of Iran and Russia with Third Partners and International Organizations (China, SCO, EAEU, Chinese “Silk Road Economic Belt”) (Elena Dunayeva / Mohsen Shariatinia) 143 About Authors 155 About RIAC 158 About IRAS 159 RUSSIA-IRAN PARTNERSHIP: AN OVERVIEW AND PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE Foreword ran has always had a special place in Russia’s foreign policy. Relations between Ithe two countries have never been simple, but even during the most dramatic moments in their history the two sides recognized the importance of maintain- ing bilateral dialogue and cooperation. Over the past two years, the international situation surrounding Iran has improved significantly. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear programme signed in July 2015 opens up considerable opportunities for Iran to further strengthen its role as a leading regional power. We can say that the attempts to isolate Tehran from the rest of the world completely failed. Iran is once again becoming a major economic player, an attractive market for foreign investment, and an important power in the Middle East, Asia and the whole world. In these circumstances, Russia needs to form a systemic view of its relations with Iran, the one which reflects the strategic vision of bilateral cooperation – from trade and economic relations to regional and global partnership. At the same time, it is necessary to understand that forming a “strategic partnership” is only pos- sible if relations between the two states are not affected by the political climate, and assuming they do not rely on external factors, no matter how significant they could be.