“I stand assured that in spite of Washington’s pressures on the region and Iran in particular, the two countries will expand their relations more than ever before regardless of the White House’s will and intention,” President Rouhani said at a meeting with Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Viktorovich Volodin, held in Tehran on Monday.
Underlining that Iran is by no way interested in the spread of tensions across the region, Rouhani said, “Regional stability is of significance to Iran and Russia, and we are ready, as in the past, to further cooperation and deliberation between the two countries.”
“Trilateral relations between Iran, Russia and China as well as joint maritime drills in the Sea of Oman indicate that the trio are bent on developing closer ties with each other,” Rouhani added, according to Press TV.
The president also expressed hope that the all the previous agreements between Tehran and Moscow for the promotion of joint investment would enter into force as soon as possible.
Volodin, for his part, said, “Despite increased tensions in the region, we should work towards defusing tensions and expanding ties without allowing such tensions to drift us apart.”
He added that the most important points raised during discussions within the framework of the two countries' joint economic commission included the expansion of trade ties between the two countries, noting, “We believe that we can reach better conclusions through more meetings.”