©Alexander Astafyev/POOL/TASS
Russia and Iran plan to implement a visa-free tourist travel agreement between the two countries in 2023, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov said on Friday at the MITT exhibition, Russia’s premier B2B travel and tourism trade show.
"We plan to shift toward implementing the agreement for visa-free group tourism. The list of tour operators intending to organize such groups among Russians [accommodating up to 50 persons for a tour length of up to 15 days - TASS] has already been approved," the minister said.
"This document has already been passed on to [our] colleagues in Iran. We are now waiting for a similar [list] from you so as to let the tourist exchange process get underway," Reshetnikov said, addressing his Iranian counterparts.
Lavrov, SCO chief discuss aspects of Iran, Belarus’ accession to organization
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and visiting Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Zhang Ming discussed procedural aspects of Iran and Belarus’ accession to the organization, the Russian foreign ministry said on Friday.
"The sides discussed putting into place decisions made by the SCO summit in Samarkand on September 16, 2022, preparations for the upcoming top-and high-level meetings this year. Special attention was focused on procedural aspects of Iran and Belarus’ accession to the organization, as well as the process of formalizing relations with new dialogue partners (Bahrain, the Maldives, Myanmar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates)," it said.
Syria wants more Russian troops
Russia’s military presence in Syria should become permanent, President Bashar Assad suggested in an interview with the RIA Novosti news agency on Thursday. He made the comments after meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow the day before.
Assad said he would welcome any Russian proposals to set up new military bases and boost troop numbers in the country, adding that Moscow’s presence in Syria is “a good thing” and does not need to be temporary or limited to just fighting terrorism.
“The war against terror is today’s topic, but it is temporary,” Assad said, adding that “Russia’s military presence in any country should not be based on anything temporary.”
Instead, the Syrian leader pointed out that the issue is about “international balance” and that Russia’s presence in Syria “is important in terms of the balance of power in the world as a country located on the Mediterranean Sea.”
He added that, in his opinion, superpowers today cannot defend themselves or fulfill their proper roles on the world stage if their presence is limited only to their state territories. “They should work outside of [their territories] through their allies in the world or through military bases,” Assad said.
“We believe that if Russia has a desire to expand the bases or increase their number, then this is a technical or logistical issue. If there is such a desire, then we believe that the expansion of the Russian presence in Syria is good,” Assad told RIA.
He noted, however, that the topic of bases has not been discussed by the two sides “from a military point of view” and that announcements on this kind of cooperation are rarely made due to the inherent secrecy of military issues. But he stressed that both Russia and Syria have a common view on the topic in both political and military terms.
Moscow and Damascus have had close ties since the Soviet era. In 2015, Russia sent its military into Syria to help Damascus fight against Islamic State and Western-backed jihadist groups opposing Assad’s government. In 2017, Russia deployed a navy logistics center in the city of Tartus for 49 years, which in the future is expected to be able to host up to eleven Russian warships, including nuclear vessels, at the same time.
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