TEHRAN -- Russian President Vladimir Putin will certainly visit Iran at some point, but the exact date of this visit is yet unknown, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told TASS.
“He will certainly go there over time, but exact dates are yet to be determined,” the news agency said, citing Peskov when asked to comment on the possibility of Putin visiting Iran and participating in an Astana format summit.
On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian expressed hope that the Iran-Russia-Turkey summit will eventually convene in Tehran.
Plans to hold such a meeting were announced even before the novel coronavirus pandemic, but the event had to be postponed many times since.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Tehran Wednesday and held meetings with President Ebrahim Raisi and his Iranian counterpart.
President Raisi said constant meetings between Iranian and Russian officials indicate the two countries’ firm determination to open a new chapter of fruitful and strategic cooperation, particularly in the economic sector.
“Strengthening cooperation and coordination is an effective way to counter U.S. sanctions and economic unilateralism against independent nations,” he said.
The president warned of the NATO expansion into different parts of the world, blaming the military alliance’s provocative acts and those of the U.S. for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
“It is necessary to be proactive in the face of attempts to expand NATO’s influence in any part of the world, including in West Asia, the Caucasus and Central Asia,” he said.
President Raisi also stressed the importance of ending the war in Ukraine as soon as possible and expressed Iran’s readiness to help find a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Lavrov said Russia is keen to elevate cooperation with Iran to a strategic level.
Pointing to the significance of Iran’s membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Russian foreign minister said his country supports Tehran’s role in regional and international organizations.
In a tweet, Iran’s Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian said he held “substantial talks with FM Lavrov to further enhance cooperation and discussed regional and international developments”.
“Both stressed that arbitrary and extraterritorial sanctions are illegitimate,” he wrote. “We agreed to intensify joint efforts to expedite full implementation of our agreements.”