Alwaght- Amid Ukraine war, Russia has hosted an international summit on world security.
The thirteenth Moscow International Security Meeting began on Tuesday and will continue to Thursday chaired by Sergei Shoigu, the head of the Russian National Security Council, with the presence of over 100 countries.
Members of the BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Arab League, the African Union, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and other international organizations with their senior security officials attended the meeting. Meetings of delegations from BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), ASEAN and the CIS are also on the agenda of the meeting, according to the Kremlin.
Ali Akbar Ahmadian, Secretary of Supreme National Security Council, is also representing Iran at the meeting. In addition to speaking at the meeting, Ahmadian will hold bilateral meetings and consultations on the sidelines of the meeting and will review the latest progress in strategic relations with Russia during his meeting with Russian officials.
The summit was first established in 2010 by the Russian Security Council as a platform for sharing views on all issues related to global security and mechanisms for strengthening cooperation between partner countries in the fight against international terrorism, extremism, transnational crime, drug trafficking, as well as new challenges and threats.
At the current meeting, participants are also expected to discuss and exchange views on the formation of a new international security architecture, combating cybercrime, and ensuring the protection of critical information infrastructure. In this regard, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his opening speech at the summit, underscored the need for collective efforts to create an equal and indivisible security structure. He said: “The international community must jointly create a new architecture of equal and indivisible security.” One of the important parts of the summit is a conceptual discussion of global trends by Russian experts, which includes the presentation of a report entitled “2025: Transforming the World.”
Shoigu, referring to the Moscow event, said that "we want to show that we are in favor of integrated and indivisible security, that security is not against anyone but security is for everyone."
His deputy, Alexander Venediktov, said: " These meetings discuss regional and global security matters that require concerted and coordinated international efforts in a profession and non-politicized atmosphere. The specialized experience of the participant and their familiarity with conditions of their own countries provide for fruitful dialogue."
Moscow meeting vs. Western format
The new round of the Moscow Security Meeting began at a time the conflict between Russia and NATO over the Ukraine crisis has made its anti-Western identity more pronounced than ever, so that it can now be said with greater certainty that the Moscow event has become an initiative against the West-oriented Munich Security Conference (MSC) to help establish a new multipolar world order and confront Western hegemony.
In recent years, the West has excluded Russia from the MSC, and as a result, Russia sees the Moscow Security Meeting as an opportunity to strengthen political and security cooperation with other countries from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and is trying to form new security alliances based on mutual respect, national sovereignty, and non-interference in internal affairs.
In fact, critics of the MSC believe that the conference acted unilaterally in terms of security priorities and regional and international crises, preferring Western interests over international peace and stability. This situation has led to the conference remaining practically ineffective in resolving international issues. In this regard, the priorities of the MSC have always been to highlight the threats of competitors and the geopolitical challenges of the West, while in many crises the traces of the destructive role of Western hegemonic policies are clearly visible, such as the fundamental conflicts between the Eastern and Western perspectives on the roots of the Ukrainian war and the crises in West Asia, including the Gaza war.
Therefore, Moscow meeting has provided a platform for strategic coordination and information exchange among the countries of the global South to form a coherent coalition against Western unilateralism. In the meantime, Iran, Russia, China and North Korea, as key players, play a pivotal role in determining the agendas and directions of this coalition and seek to establish a multipolar security system.
Venediktov commented on the aims of the meeting, saying: "We have chosen an agenda that is of the utmost importance given the current political and economic developments in the world. Today, even in the West, many acknowledge that the unipolar world order has reached a dead end and is collapsing. Multipolarity is now a reality."
Boosting Iran-Russia security cooperation
Moscow event stresses on the common view of Russia and Iran for creating a balanced framework in global security and highlights multilateral dialogue and international cooperation.
Over the past two decades, Iran-Russia relations have moved from regional competition to a kind of “strategic synergy.” As Western pressure mounts on both countries, Moscow and Tehran are redefining their roles in neighboring regions. Since the strategic agreement between Tehran and Moscow also mentions strengthening military and security cooperation, this is pushing the two countries to expand cooperation.
Iran and Russia now cooperate in all areas, and Moscow officials also acknowledge Iran’s constructive and stabilizing role in the international system. In this regard, Anton Kobyakov, economic advisor to the Russian president, on the sidelines of the meeting, defended Iran’s indisputable right to use its peaceful nuclear program, saying: “Tehran has shown that it is open to dialogue and commits to its obligations, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement. Iran’s right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy must be respected. Unfortunately, not everyone in America shares a peaceful view, and we hope that rationality will prevail. Russia is ready to help reach mutually beneficial agreements on Iran’s nuclear program and the Iran-US talks.”
Given its special geopolitical location, historical-cultural ties with regional countries, and economic and security capabilities, Iran can play a key role in stabilizing the region and beyond. In the security sphere, Iran has a long history of fighting terrorism and countering drug trafficking, an experience that can be very effective in strengthening regional security cooperation.
In Russian viewpoint, Iran makes a reliable partner in maintaining power balance against the NATO influence and Western presence in Central Asia. Through Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Iran can contribute to creating regional collective security mechanisms and play a constructive role in multilateral dialogue and sustainable development. This role is in line with Russian interests and the world community demand for long-term instability in Eurasia.
As relations between Tehran and Moscow have deepened significantly since the Ukraine war, the meeting could make ground for further agreements in the areas of defense, energy, and cybersecurity.
Afghanistan and Syria, two major hot spots in Central and West Asia, are the main focus of this joint cooperation. Russia’s long-standing military presence in Syria and Iran’s intelligence and cultural influence in both countries have laid the foundation for security synergies.
With Afghanistan facing political, security, and economic crises under Taliban rule, Iran and Russia can realistically engage in strategic cooperation to maintain regional stability and counter common threats. Both countries are concerned about power gain of extremist groups, including ISIS, in Afghanistan, a phenomenon that could threaten the security of Iran’s borders, Central Asia, and Russia’s interests.
Therefore, in intelligence and counterterrorism areas, Tehran and Moscow can help contain transnational threats by exchanging security data, monitoring activities of extremist groups, and setting up joint border mechanisms. Iran, through its cultural and social influence in western Afghanistan, and Russia, with its security networks in the north, can create a complementary intelligence and security belt.
As NATO and the West build up their presence in Central Asia through military training, technology providing, and bilateral pacts with regional republics, Iran and Russia within the framework of SCO or regional alliances coordinate efforts to check Western institutions' influence gain in their security zone. For this cooperation to be a success story, Tehran and Moscow need constant interaction, mutual trust, and management of hidden competitions.
Concerning Syria, the two countries have had for decades a powerful presence in the Arab country and during the country's civil war last decade, they played a key role under Astana peace format. In the current power vacuum in Syria, Iran and Russia are capable of playing a stabilizing role again due to their deep understanding of the political, security and social structure of Syria. Intelligence cooperation, the creation of a joint operations room and preventing the disintegration of Syria are among the main goals of both sides, and the two countries may act in line in regional and international political negotiations to support a unified transitional government or a joint military structure. The ultimate goal of Tehran and Moscow is to block the influence of the West, Turkey or extremist groups in the future order of Syria, and these common interests will lead the two sides to further partnership over Syria.
In general, through Moscow meeting, Russia seeks to build a multipolar new international order. This effort is within a broader policy to end the several-decade dominance of the West and promises shift of power from the West to the East.
