Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted his Iranian counterpart Friday for the signing of a broad pact between Moscow and Tehran. The Kremlin says the “comprehensive strategic partnership” agreement between Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will take their cooperation to a new level.

The two countries have been engaged in unprecedented rapprochement since the start of the war in Ukraine, with Moscow seeking to demonstrate that it is not isolated and a weakened Tehran needing Russian support.

The agreement is focused more on trade than military issues, but it will bring two countries with a shared desire to challenge the West closer together.