The Finnish capital, Helsinki, turned into the main center for international diplomacy July 16 by hosting a long-awaited summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, as Iran and Syria topped the agenda of the two presidents’ discussions at the summit, Tehran was trying to adapt its Syrian strategy by sending special envoys to Moscow and Damascus.

Five days prior to the meeting, on July 11, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's foreign policy adviser Ali Akbar Velayati traveled to Moscow to deliver separate messages from Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani to the Russian president. Although the visit was primarily aimed at cementing cooperation with Russia in the aftermath of the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, a great part of Velayati’s discussions in Moscow was focused on the Syrian issue and the Iran-Russia partnership in the war-torn country.

Upon his arrival in the Russian capital, Velayati touched upon Syria, saying that cooperation between Iran and Russia, as well as other countries of the region, is “indicative of an exemplary, strategic and long-term partnership between the two countries.” The issue was indeed one of the main topics of Velayati’s discussions with Putin on July 12. According to the official statement issued by the Kremlin after the meeting, “The discussion focused on Russian-Iranian cooperation issues as well as the situation in the region, including developments in Syria.”

Although no details have been published on which exact matters concerning Syria were discussed, some of Velayati’s remarks in the days following the meeting could shed light on the Iranian position. In a speech at Moscow’s Valdai Discussion Club on July 13, the top Iranian official said that Iran coordinates its presence in Syria with Russia as well as the Syrian government. Elsewhere in his remarks, Velayati addressed the possibility of a deal between Moscow and Washington over Syria, saying, “I told the Russian officials: Now the Americans are telling you that the Iranians must leave Syria and tomorrow they will ask you what you are doing in Syria.”