Putin names Iran as Russia’s reliable partner
By Kamila Aliyeva
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani continues his official visit to Moscow, meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues.
Rouhani’s visit is taking place during one of the most important periods in Iran and Russia's relationship, with the Syrian crisis having become a showcase of the growing partnership between the two countries.
In Moscow, Rouhani and Putin meet for the first time within a purely bilateral framework, as their previous meetings were held either on the sidelines of international events or in the context of multilateral initiatives.
"Russia and Iran share many years, if not centuries, of bilateral cooperation and we have maintained diplomatic relations for more than 500 years," Vladimir Putin said at the meeting with Rouhani, TASS reported.
"Iran is our good neighbor and reliable and stable partner," Putin said, stressing that Moscow and Tehran "work together effectively along all lines."
"This concerns international activity and the solution of major and very acute international problems. Also, we work in the economic field," he said. "Lately we achieved considerable results in all these realms of activity."
The president mentioned growth in bilateral turnover, which was up 70% in 2016 as an example.
"This is a unique phenomenon in the current complicated economic conditions," he said, adding that it was largely an achievement of Iran’s president and government.
Rouhani, in turn, noted that cooperation between Russia and the Islamic Republic is not directed against third countries, but is aimed at strengthening stability in the region.
Rouhani said relations between the two countries have developed positively in recent years, further voicing hope that during the talks new steps will be made to develop relations.
"We have a good experience in the fight against terrorism, international terrorism, the fight against the drug threat. Our ultimate goal is to strengthen peace and stability in the region. The development of our relations is not directed against third countries," he said.
A total of 14 cooperation documents in consular, tourism, economy, communications, legal and judicial fields were inked on the sidelines of the meeting between Iranian and Russian Presidents.
The documents include a MOU on extradition of criminals, MOU on visa-free travel for Russian and Iranian citizens within tourist groups, a cooperation document between the energy ministries for electricity trade, a document on cooperation in sports, as well as MOUs on cooperation in the fields of housing, transportation, railways, ICT, trade, oil and gas, and transportation of nuclear materials.
Earlier, at the meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev which took place on March 27, Rouhani said that during his current visit to Moscow the sides may witness a new turning point in the development of bilateral relations.
According to the Federal Customs Service, the volume of Russian-Iranian trade turnover in 2016 increased by 70.1 percent and amounted to more than $2.18 billion. At the same time, Russian exports grew by 85.1 percent to more than $1.88 billion, imports - by 13.2 percent to more than $302 million.
Exports from Russia to Iran are dominated by shipments of machinery and equipment, food products, metals, timber and chemical products. The main imports from Iran in 2016 were food and agricultural raw materials (77 percent), chemical products (more than 16 percent), machinery and equipment, mineral products and textiles.
---
Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz