TEHRAN – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday that Iran and Russia should update long-term cooperation deal to a strategic level.

During a meeting with Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the International Affairs Committee of Russia’s State Duma, Zarif said Iran attaches great importance to promoting parliamentary relations to a strategic level.

Slutsky said that his visit to Iran during the coronavirus pandemic shows the importance of relations.

Iran and Russia signed a cooperation deal 20 years ago. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif who visited Moscow on July 20 said Iran plans to extend the 20-year agreement with Russia.

“I stress that Iran-Russia relations are strategic. In the current situation in which there are developments at the international level, it is needed to hold talks between the two countries and also with other friends,” Zarif told reporters in Moscow.

Ghalibaf says Tehran ready to increase parliamentary co-op with Moscow

Slutsky and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also held talks said on Saturday.

Ghalibaf said the Iranian parliament (Majlis) is prepared to promote parliamentary relations with Russia

The Iranian parliament speaker said both nations need to focus on all-out relations in various fields.

Ghalibaf went on to say that Majlis is ready to accelerate joint cooperation with Russia in different fields including politics, trade, economy and culture, the Fars news agency reported.

During the talks, Ghalibaf called the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei in November 2017 a “turning point”.

Ghalibaf also lauded Iran-Russia cooperation in fighting terrorism in Syria, saying security cooperation can serve as a model for boosting joint cooperation in other fields.

Slutsky, for his part, called for maintaining cooperation among Iranian and Russian expert parliamentary committees, including political, energy and economic ones. 

Both parliaments can help develop national projects and strategic cooperation, he added.  

The head of the Duma committee also called for promotion of cooperation in the Caspian Sea.

In relevant remarks in June, Ghalibaf and Russian Ambassador to Iran Levan Dzhagaryan underlined the need to expand mutual cooperation in different fields, especially trade relations.

During their meeting on June 22, Ghalibaf and Dzhagaryan explored avenues for bolstering and reinvigorating ties in economic and trade areas.

Ghalibaf appreciated Russia for its principled stance in the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“The claims made in the IAEA resolution are not legal and Russia had firm stance in this regard,” he said.

The Iranian parliament speaker said undoubtedly parliamentary cooperation between the Russian State Duma and the Iranian Parliament will continue with more speed.

NA/MH