Vladimir Putin is embarking on what is only his second trip outside of Russia since invading Ukraine. He doesn’t get out much these days, mostly because most civilized nations don’t want anything to do with him. But that doesn’t apply to Iran, where Putin will meet with Iran’s hardline president, Ebrahim Raisi in the capital of Tehran. Also at the meeting will be Turkish despot Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan claims to be attending the meeting as an effort to try to negotiate an end to the conflict in Ukraine or at least open up the path for Ukraine’s agricultural exports. But there is clearly more going on behind the scenes than that sort of foreign diplomacy. (Associated Press)

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Iran starting Tuesday is intended to deepen ties with regional heavyweights as part of Moscow’s challenge to the United States and Europe amid its grinding campaign in Ukraine.

In only his second trip abroad since Russian tanks rolled into its neighbor in February, Putin is scheduled to hold talks with Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the pressing issues facing the region, including the conflict in Syria and a U.N.-backed proposal to resume exports of Ukrainian grain to ease the global food crisis.

As the West heaps sanctions on Russia and the costly campaign drags on, Putin is seeking to bolster ties with Tehran, a fellow target of severe U.S. sanctions and a potential military and trade partner.

The motivation for Putin to go to Tehran is pretty obvious. He doesn’t have many partners left in the global diplomacy game outside of the new Axis of Evil. So he wants to shore up his ties with Iran, China, North Korea, and Venezuela as much as possible. The other members aren’t scheduled to be in Tehran this week, but you can rest assured that they will all be briefed on the details. Putin is looking for any sort of trade deal that might help bolster Russia’s economy under all of the current global sanctions.

The presence of Erdogan at the meeting is more complicated. Turkey is the only NATO member that hasn’t imposed sanctions on Russia since the invasion began and Erdogan has been trying to play both sides of the fence. He claims to disapprove of the invasion and wants to find a way to end it, but he doesn’t really have much in the way of leverage. Meanwhile, Turkey’s economy is tanking and he’s obviously hoping to do some business with the Kremlin in an effort to tamp down the recession currently gripping his country.

Turkey has already purchased missile systems and jets from Russia and the Russians are currently shopping for advanced combat drones from Iran. It’s a cozy little relationship to be sure, though it flies in the face of the efforts being made by Turkey’s supposed NATO allies. Everything that Erdogan does to get some cash moving in Russia’s direction blunts the effects of the sanctions, likely prolonging the war. (Even though Erdogan claims that his goal is to put an end to it.)

While he’s in the country, Putin is also scheduled to meet with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His spokesperson said that Putin has a “trusting relationship” with Khamenei. They will also be discussing the current situation in Syria, where both Russia and Iran have backed Bashar al-Assad to the detriment of western forces in the region.

We’ve discussed this here in the past but it bears repeating. Turkey has not been a reliable ally since Erdogan seized power in that nation. He has taken western citizens, including Americans, as hostages and held them for years. He has cut military hardware deals with Russia in violation of NATO agreements. And these days he seems to be leaning more toward the new Axis of Evil than the west. When Erdogan shows us who he really is, perhaps we should believe him.