TEHRAN — Moscow hopes that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi can come on a visit to Russia once the coronavirus situation permits, Russian Ambassador to Iran Levan Dzhagaryan has told Sputnik.

“As you know, before the start of the pandemic, our presidents regularly met in Russia, Iran, on the margins of various international events. We hope that as the epidemiological situation normalizes, the right conditions will emerge for it (the visit) to take place,” Dzhagaryan said.

The ambassador also said that Russia supports Iran's application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), filed in 2008.

“We have close, and on a number of international and regional issues, coinciding positions. In connection with the SCO summit scheduled for September of this year in Dushanbe, I would like to confirm that Russia supports Iran's application for full membership in this organization,” Dzhagaryan told Sputnik.

In another part of the interview, Dzhagaryan stated that Moscow and Tehran are interested in boosting the bilateral energy cooperation and see potential for it.

"Ministries are already conducting relevant negotiation," he added. 

"The Russian-Iranian energy cooperation is developing successfully. At the same time, there is still a great potential for further growth. Relevant ministries and companies of the two countries are interested in launching projects to expand the engagement of Russian economic operators," Ambassador Dzhagaryan said.

Russia and Iran maintain dialogue "on the whole range of bilateral and international issues, including energy issues," the diplomat added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed preparations for the upcoming SCO summit with Raisi when he congratulated his Iranian counterpart on winning the June presidential election.
 

SA/PA