MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during a visit to Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, on Wednesday, the Kremlin said.

Putin is making his first known trip abroad since the start of what Moscow calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

He is expected to meet Tajik President Imomali Rakhmon in Dushanbe later on Tuesday.

Putin to make first foreign trip since launching Ukraine war

Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin would return to Moscow on Wednesday evening.