Russia, Iran continuing work on cooperation agreement: Kremlin
TEHRAN - Moscow and Tehran are continuing their work on a comprehensive bilateral cooperation agreement, although the schedule of specific events may shift, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
Earlier Russia's RIA state news agency reported that the agreement had been temporarily suspended due to problems faced by Iranian partners, however, Iran's Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali said this was not the case.
Iran and Russia have been working on this agreement for two years, and the latest draft of the texts are being exchanged.
According to Jalali, this text must be adjusted and coordinated with various institutions inside the country which takes time.
“Our efforts have been and are to get this agreement signed by the authorities of the two countries in 2024,” he said.
Jalali added that currently, the text is in Iran's hands, hoping that various institutions respond as soon as possible to sign the agreement.
He further said that during a meeting on Monday, June 10, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Iran’s acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani insisted that the two countries sign this agreement as soon as possible.
Work on a new major agreement between Moscow and Tehran was announced in September 2022 during a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and late President Ebrahim Raisi.
In January, Russia's Foreign Ministry had said a new interstate treaty reflecting the "unprecedented upswing" in Russia-Iran ties was in the final stages of being agreed, and Putin and Raisi were expected to sign it soon., the report added.
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