Iranupdated 58m ago2 min read
Archive photo · 27 December 2025Masoud Pezeshkian Travels To Moscow For GECF Summit, Meets Vladimir Putin
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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will attend the Eighth GECF Summit in Moscow. He will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the visit.
10 outlets told this the same way.
Pezeshkian heads to Moscow
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is set to travel to Russia for a gas summit in Moscow and to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announcing that the meeting would take place in Moscow this week. Pezeshkian will depart for Russia on Monday night to attend the summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Moscow on Tuesday, where he is expected to deliver a speech. Pezeshkian will leave for Russia tonight to take part in the GECF summit, and bilateral meetings with some attending leaders were also planned.
Pezeshkian will travel to Moscow on Monday to address the eighth summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), and he was scheduled to meet with Putin and other participating leaders. The GECF is an intergovernmental organization bringing together major natural gas-producing countries including Iran, Russia, Qatar and Algeria.
Energy security and talks
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said promoting cooperation between Iran and Russia and member countries of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) plays a key role in ensuring energy security, expanding investment scale and diversifying fuel supply routes. Laodong.vn said Araghchi linked the cooperation to strengthening the strategic partnership between Tehran and Moscow, describing opportunities for joint investment flows, technology transfer, infrastructure improvements and increased natural gas supply capacity. PressTV quoted Esmaeil Baghaei describing the visit as “significant” for consultations among major global energy suppliers, particularly gas producers, and for bilateral meetings with leaders of participating countries.
Tehran Times said acting oil minister Hamid Bovard told reporters that Iran would hold bilateral talks with oil and energy ministers on the sidelines of the summit to discuss expanding cooperation and bilateral activities. Tehran Times said Bovard added that Iran would push for the establishment of a common gas market and closer coordination among exporting countries to develop common policies on gas exports.
Swap deal and summit agenda
Mehr News Agency said Pezeshkian’s trip to Russia for the GECF summit included possible bilateral meetings with leaders of some attending countries. Bovard described an Iran-Russia gas swap deal as “almost finalized,” and gas swaps could begin soon if a pipeline project being pursued through the Republic of Azerbaijan is completed. Bovard referred to Russia developing four major oil fields in Iran and said the two sides had concluded appropriate contracts for the projects.
Iran’s acting oil minister said key issues on the agenda included protecting energy infrastructure during wars and crises, expanding gas trade among exporting countries and identifying ways to increase exchanges. The GECF’s leaders’ summit is held every two years and listed previous summits including Moscow in 2013 and Algiers in 2024.