Tehran, Iran – Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is anticipated to fulfill his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran on Tuesday.

The assembly, which is able to embrace Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will happen within the trilateral “Astana format” aimed toward resolving variations in Syria, however there may be way more at stake as conflict rages in Ukraine.

The leaders and their delegations are additionally anticipated to carry bilateral conferences, throughout which points starting from the conflict in Ukraine to Iran’s 2015 nuclear take care of world powers could possibly be mentioned.

Listed here are six issues it’s good to know:

What’s the state of affairs in Syria?

The Tehran summit takes place as tensions simmer with Turkey on one facet of an argument, and Russia and Iran on the opposite. On June 1, Turkey introduced it is going to quickly launch a brand new navy operation in no less than two northern Syrian cities to focus on what it calls “terrorist” Kurdish armed teams.

Russia and Iran are the 2 largest backers of the federal government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has maintained energy all through his nation’s civil conflict, which started greater than 10 years in the past.

As Erdogan spoke of building a 30km (18.5 miles) “safety zone” by “cleansing up” the 2 cities of Tal Rifaat and Manbij, Moscow and Tehran known as on Ankara to chorus from new assaults.

Washington additionally opposes Ankara’s deliberate transfer.

Just lately, Erdogan examined his leverage in NATO in an try and strengthen his place on Kurdish fighters in Syria.

In late June, he in the end dropped his opposition to Finland and Sweden becoming a member of the alliance after the Nordic nations agreed to cease supporting Kurdish armed teams and extradite dozens of people that Turkey considers “terrorists”.

Individually, Russia earlier this month vetoed a United Nations Safety Council decision to increase cross-border assist deliveries to individuals in Syria for one yr, forcing a compromise involving a six-month extension.

The place do Turkey and Iran stand on Ukraine?

It is a uncommon overseas journey for Putin, who in February launched a “particular operation” with a acknowledged goal of demilitarising neighbouring Ukraine and thwarting Kyiv’s NATO ambitions.

Erdogan has performed a fragile balancing act throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Turkey, which has voiced assist for Ukraine whereas opposing the scope of Western sanctions on Russia, has tried to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv with the objective of reaching a ceasefire settlement.

However on the similar time, it has offered its Bayraktar fight drones to Ukraine, which have been used within the conflict, angering Russia. Turkey had additionally opposed Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Ankara, nonetheless, has lately cast shut ties with Russia on vitality, defence and commerce whereas additionally counting on Russian vacationers.

In the meantime, Iran has refused to sentence Russia for invading Ukraine and blamed NATO’s enlargement as the foundation of the battle, however has opposed the conflict and known as for dialogue to cease the preventing.

It has additionally relayed messages between Ukraine and Russia a number of occasions.

Does Iran need to promote drones to Russia?

Putin’s go to comes after United States nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan claimed final week that Iran needs to promote “lots of” of armed drones to Russia for use within the conflict in Ukraine.

CNN reported {that a} Russian delegation visited an airbase in central Iran no less than twice up to now month, the place they noticed a showcase of two fashions of weapons-capable Iranian drones.

The Kremlin has refused to touch upon the difficulty, however Tehran has explicitly denied the accusation, saying it is not going to militarily help both facet of the battle because it needs the conflict to finish.

Giorgio Cafiero, head of the Washington, DC-based geopolitical danger consultancy agency Gulf State Analytics, mentioned it could be “unprecedented” if Iran had been to export that many drones, and that the US declare ought to be seen with a “wholesome diploma of scepticism”.

“Iran lacks expertise exporting that many drones to a different state, which must also trigger one to query the validity of Sullivan’s assertion,” he instructed Al Jazeera.

Are tensions between the US and Iran nonetheless heated?

The Iran summit comes days after US President Joe Biden wrapped up his Center East tour, throughout which he visited Iran’s arch foe Israel and rival Saudi Arabia, prompting backlash from Tehran.

You will need to interpret Putin and Erdogan’s journey to Iran inside the context of “elevated East-West bifurcation” following the Ukraine conflict, based on Cafiero.

Because the conflict rages and Russia’s financial system has taken successful from Western sanctions, Moscow seeks stronger ties with non-Western nations that don’t assist the measures, he mentioned.

“There’s a sturdy message being despatched to Washington about Moscow, Tehran, and Ankara’s wishes to work collectively with out US insurance policies, positions, and agendas being imposed on them.”

There’s additionally the difficulty of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal – of which Russia is a member. Throughout Biden’s journey, the US, Israel and a few Center East leaders underlined their objective that Iran by no means features a nuclear weapon.

Tehran insists it is going to by no means search a bomb, however its oblique negotiations to revive the accord that Washington unilaterally deserted in 2018 have stalled for months over disagreements on what sanctions the US must carry.

What else is perhaps mentioned on the summit?

The three leaders are anticipated to carry essential bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Nur-Sultan talks.

Along with the protected export of grain from Ukraine, Putin and Erdogan may talk about vitality, commerce and different methods of enhancing relations.

Iran, in the meantime, needs to signal 20-year cooperation agreements with each nations, and has made proposals in current months.

As Iran’s financial system suffers from Washington’s stringent sanctions, the Iranian president has targeted on a regional diplomacy initiative to counter the results.

Iran additionally needs to spice up commerce with Russia and Turkey, and officers have mentioned utilizing nationwide currencies with Moscow.

“Russia and Iran have comparable import and export calls for – each export comparable merchandise which is a part of the rationale why Moscow has much more substantial financial relations with Turkey than Iran,” mentioned Nicole Grajewski, a analysis fellow with the Worldwide Safety Programme on the Belfer Heart for Science and Worldwide Affairs.

She instructed Al Jazeera that even when Russian companies are prepared to reveal themselves to secondary US sanctions, Moscow has been seeking to enhance home manufacturing following the conflict, which might imply it could be much less inclined to import some Iranian items.

Grajewski mentioned Putin and Raisi are unlikely to finalise the 20-year settlement throughout this go to, “however there appears to be a higher impetus to strengthen ties in comparison with earlier many years”.