Putin on landmark Iran visit despite 'death plot'

TEHRAN: Russian President Vladimir Putin flew into Iran on Tuesday for the first visit by a Kremlin chief since World War II, defying reports a squad of suicide bombers planned to kill him.   

Putin was attending a summit meeting of Caspian Sea states, amid heavy security on Tehran's streets and secrecy over his travel arrangements. His sheer presence is of major significance for the Islamic republic at a time of mounting tension over its atomic drive and Putin will also meet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.   

The Russian president spoke out against the use of force in the region in his address to the summit, saying it was imperative that Caspian Sea states are not used for attacks on fellow littoral countries.    He said the final summit statement would include a clause on 'the impossibility of providing the territory of one state for an act of aggression against another state'.   

"The Caspian Sea should unite us rather than divide us," he added. Reports on Russian news agencies of an assassination threat had cast doubt over whether Putin would go ahead with the visit and his arrival was delayed from the scheduled touchdown on Monday evening. But much to the relief of Iranian officials, his plane finally landed at Tehran's Mehrabad airport at around 0530 GMT and Putin emerged into bright sunshine to be greeted by Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.   

Russia's Interfax news agency, citing a source in the Russian special services, had reported on Sunday that a group of suicide bombers would try to kill Putin in Tehran. The Kremlin said Putin had been notified of the report. His exact travel plans were kept closely under wraps, with Kremlin officials refusing even to disclose what time he left Germany after talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel for the five hour flight to Iran.   

Putin had insisted that he would press ahead with his visit, saying that talking directly to Iran's leaders could help end the standoff over its nuclear programme. "Of course I am going to Iran," Putin said in the western German city of Wiesbaden. "If I listened to what the security services said, I would never leave my home."   

His comments came after a day of confusion when a Kremlin spokesman said there was 'no information' whether Putin would go ahead with the trip -- only for the president to insist in person there was no chance of a cancellation.

There was a visibly high security presence on Tehran's streets for the summit, which groups together the heads of state of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan.    Iranian media reported that Putin's armour-plated car had been air-freighted into Tehran ahead of his visit to ensure his security.   

The Islamic republic has regularly hosted allies who share its antipathy towards the United States such as Belarus President Aleksander Lukashenko, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. But a visit by a statesman of Putin's stature -- his country is a veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council -- is a major event.   

The last Kremlin chief to visit Iran was Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, who attended the famous conference of the 'Big Three' World War II Allied powers in Tehran in 1943 alongside Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt.   

A major issue in his talks is set to be the much delayed project for Russia to build Iran's first nuclear power station in the southern city of Bushehr, which has still to be completed after a series of missed deadlines. The visit is taking place against the background of the diplomatic crisis over the Iran's nuclear programme and warnings by the United States and its European allies Tehran faces more UN and unilateral sanctions.   

Moscow however has been taking a different line over the Iranian nuclear programme.    "Believe me, we can and we must show patience," Putin said. "Scaring the Iranian leadership and the Iranian people is pointless." The West, led by the United States, fears Tehran is covertly building nuclear weapons -- a charge Iran denies -- while Putin said recently he sees no evidence of a threat.