Rouhani Asks for Comprehensive Expansion of Ties with Russia
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran and Russia need to promote their relations to a comprehensive status where bilateral cooperation expands in all fields, said President Hassan Rouhani in his Saturday meeting with Deputy Russian Prime Minister for Defense and Space Industry Dmitry Rogozin.
Iran and Russia have shared interests and objectives in the sensitive Middle East region, said President Rouhani, and as such "our planning for relations with Russia will be a long-term one."
“In accordance with an agreement reached in previous phone talks and meeting with President Vladimir Putin, we agreed on the long-term, comprehensive expansion of our relations,” he said.
President Rouhani described the current level of political and economic ties between the two countries as being at an acceptable level, but stressed that they need to be pushed to an elevated stage in the future.
Dmitry Rogozin, too, conveyed President Putin’s greetings to his Iranian counterpart, and said the Russian president is not only favoring the expansion of relations with Iran, but is also asking for deepening them, especially in light of the current situations in the region.
Iran and Russia have extensive cooperation in different fields, especially in political and economic spheres.
During talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek in September, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called for stronger trade ties between the two countries, describing the current level of bilateral trade transactions as insufficient.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an intergovernmental organization that was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Iran, along with Afghanistan, India, Mongolia and Pakistan, has an observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
