Putin Lauds Role of Ayatollah Khamenei in Expansion of Iran-Russia Ties
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russian President Vladimir Putin appreciated the significance of efforts by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei at the promotion of relations between Moscow and Tehran.
The Russian president had a meeting with Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Akbar Ahmadian on the sidelines of a meeting of high-ranking security officials from BRICS, held in St. Petersburg on Thursday.
Putin stated that in recent years, friendly relations between Russia and Iran have acquired additional dynamics, saying this has happened to a large extent with the support of Ayatollah Khamenei, RIA Novosti reported.
The Russian president also hailed a 10% increase in the trade turnover with Iran in the first six months of 2024.
After last year's decline in mutual trade, trade turnover has adjusted in a positive direction in the first half of this year and has increased by almost 10 percent, Putin said.
He added that the work of the intergovernmental commission is in demand, and Russia is waiting for the appointment of a candidate for its chairman from Iran.
He also expressed Russia’s determination to cooperate with Iran in various areas, saying Russia and Iran have many important and interesting topics for cooperation.
Putin also expressed hope that Ahmadian’s visit to St. Petersburg would be useful and pleasant.
He noted that Russia will be expecting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at the BRICS summit, slated for October in Kazan.
Putin said that the development of the North-South corridor is among the projects with top priority for cooperation with Iran.
He also said Russia appreciates that cooperation with Moscow remains a priority for the team of the Iranian president.
For his part, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council conveyed greetings from Ayatollah Khamenei and President Pezeshkian, stressing that there were no changes in the approaches regarding the development of relations with Russia under the new Iranian administration.
