President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei favors the expansion of interaction between the country and Russia.
The chief executive made the remarks, attending a meeting of Russian economic activists in Moscow on Friday.
Earlier in the day, he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement for long-term cooperation between the countries.
Speaking at a joint press conference following the signing event, Pezeshkian said the agreement would open a new chapter in relations between the two nations in all arenas, notably in the economic sector.
“This document, which has been drawn up based on the two countries’ interests, can chart the path of cooperation between Iran and Russia with a bright horizon,” he added.
Pezeshkian emphasized the imperative nature of the operationalization of the deal, hailing it for heralding “a new chapter in the countries’ relations.”
The president also predicted that the relations would expand even further during the upcoming Caspian Sea summit.
Putin approved a proposal forwarded by the country’s foreign ministry for signing the agreement last September through a decree.
The decree stated that signing such an agreement would be “expedient,” without specifying the timing of its expected conclusion.
The development came a day after Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu visited the Iranian capital Tehran, to meet with senior Iranian officials, including Pezeshkian.
Meeting with the chief executive, Shoigu emphasized that Putin had asked him to convey the message to the Iranian officials that Russia’s position on cooperation with Iran on regional issues had not changed.
Pezeshkian, meanwhile, assured the Russian security chief that the Russo-Iranian relations would continue to expand along a permanent and lasting path. He asserted that boosting cooperation between the countries would undermine the effectiveness of the sanctions and unjust actions that had been imposed on both nations.