Pietro A.
Shakarian
It was only a
few weeks ago that Russian President Vladimir V. Putin and Iranian President
Masoud Pezeshkian met to ink the historic Russo-Iranian Treaty on Comprehensive
Strategic Partnership. The pact itself
was a milestone, so much so that commentators around the world are still widely
discussing its implications. Perhaps one
of the most striking elements of the treaty is the major focus on Eurasia. Although Western analysts tend to focus on
Russo-Iranian cooperation in the Middle East, the treaty indicates that Eurasia
is of even more immediate geopolitical significance to both Moscow and
Tehran. To historians and long-time
observers of Iran and Russia, this is hardly a surprise. The Eurasian region – that is, the Caucasus,
Central Asia, and the Caspian Sea – forms an integral part of the common
Russo-Iranian neighborhood.