Vladimir Putin has broken the law in Turkmenistan by driving to a summit in a black limousine instead of a regulation white or silver car.
The Russian leader arrived in Ashgabat to meet with Masoud Pezeshkian, the Iranian president, for urgent discussions on the growing conflict in the Middle East.
After his bullet-proof Aurus Senat limousine pulled up outside Turkmenistan’s palatial Chamber of Commerce, Putin walked up a steep flight of steps to met Serdar Berdymukhamedov, the Turkmen president whose father banned black cars because he thought they were unlucky.
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Putin later met Mr Pezeshkian and the two hailed their “close” views on world affairs, with the Russian leader saying ties with Tehran were a “priority” for Moscow.
They held their meeting in Turkmenistan – one of the world’s most secretive states – amid soaring tensions in the Middle East as Israel continues to target Lebanon’s capital Beirut with strikes it says are aimed at Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group.
Relations between Russia and Iran, who are both under Western sanctions, have strengthened since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, with Tehran widely believed to be supplying Moscow with weapons.
“Relations with Iran are a priority for us, they are developing very successfully,” Putin said. “We are actively working together on the international arena, and our views of events in the world are often very close.”
According to a Russian translation, Mr Pezeshkian said relations between the two countries are “sincere”.
“Our positions on the international stage are similar,” he said.
Mr Pezeshkian described the situation in the Middle East as “difficult”, saying “the USA and Europe do not want the situation to calm down”.
The short-notice meeting between Putin and Mr Pezeshkian is being held on the fringes of an obscure conference honouring a local poet. Putin was not scheduled to attend until a few days ago.
Mr Berdymukhamedov inherited the Turkmen presidency in 2022 from his father, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov.
Mr Berdymukhamedov Snr banned black cars in 2018 because he considered them unlucky and spoiled his vision of the pristine capital, which is built out of white marble on the edge of the desert.
Former Soviet Turkmenistan lies on the southern edge of Central Asia next to Iran. It is one of the most repressive countries in the world, with a dictatorship that has no free media or open political process.
In its 2024 report on Turkmenistan, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said all basic rights were repressed and torture in prison was rife.
“Recent political reforms have only deepened authoritarian rule. The government does not acknowledge poverty and has failed to take measures to address continued food insecurity,” it said.
Mr Berdymukhamedov Snr had been president of Turkmenistan since 2007 after his predecessor died of a heart attack. Before him, the country was led by a dentist that built a golden statue of himself that rotated to face the sun throughout the day.
Known for both his eccentricity, Mr Berdymukhamedov Snr quickly also built a golden statue of himself riding a horse on a 20m-high plinth.
His hobbies have included producing rap videos with his grandson, performing doughnuts in a rally car and leading his government cabinet through gym workouts, which are all televised on mainstream Turkmen channels.
The 67-year-old is also a believer in healthy lifestyles. He banned smoking in Turkmenistan altogether and insisted on mass cycling days with government workers and students dressed in identical tracksuits completing laps of Ashgabat.
Mr Berdymukhamedov Snr gave himself the honorific “Leader of the Nation” after he retired, which allows him to dominate Turkmen foreign affairs over his son.
