Update: Putin, Rouhani to meet in Kyrgyzstan next month, not in Tehran.

(Washington, D.C.) — “Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with newly elected Iranian President Hasan Rouhani next month in Kyrgyzstan, a top aide to the Russian president announced Friday,” the Times of Israel reports. “Foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov said the two leaders will convene on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit set to take place on September 13 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital and largest city.”

“Iran holds an observer status in the SCO, a security organization headed by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan,” the article notes. “Putin and Rouhani have previously met to discuss Iran’s nuclear policies when Rouihan served as the chief negotiator for Iran’s nuclear program. Earlier this week, Russian parliament speaker Sergei Naryshkin attended Rouhani’s inauguration in Tehran. Naryshkin said Russia and Iran may expand collaboration in civilian nuclear-power engineering after Iran’s first nuclear power plant comes into full operation, Russian news site RiaNovosti reported.”

On July 24th, I reported Putin would be heading to Tehran in mid-August, based on a Reuters report. It is not yet clear why date and venue of the meeting was changed.