Putin and Qalibaf Discuss Russia-Iran Relations

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf on the sidelines of the 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in St. Petersburg.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has highlighted his country’s willingness for promotion of mutual cooperation with Iran, calling for further expansion of bilateral relations between Moscow and Tehran in various spheres.

The Russian leader expressed satisfaction over Iran’s accession to the BRICS group of emerging economies, stating that his country had supported the Islamic Republic’s membership.

Iran was among dozens of countries that sought membership in BRICS and had submitted a formal application to join the body.

Putin also hailed growing relations between Moscow and Tehran, stressing that their mutual cooperation will continue to develop under the upcoming Iranian administration led by president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian.

“Presidential elections were held in your country. I am hopeful and have no doubt that relations between Iran and the Russian Federation will be developing”, Putin said, adding that the two sides will be boosting their ties as they did under late Iranian president Ebrahim Raeisi.

He also said that chairman of Russia’s State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin will head a delegation to Iran to take part in Pezeshkian’s swearing-in ceremony, which is set to take place on July 30.

"I can confidently tell you that there is no doubt that we will be developing our bilateral relations. This concerns projects that we continue on a bilateral basis, as well as other projects within the framework of associations like BRICS," said Qalibaf.

Iran officially became a member of the BRICS at the beginning of this year, five months after it announced its acceptance as a full member into the group along with Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.