TEHRAN -- A leading ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin met Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday on a trip to deepen trade and security cooperation, as Moscow looks to shore up its economy and bolster its war effort in Ukraine.
Russian Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev’s visit was a sign of Iran’s growing importance at a time when Moscow is isolated by Western sanctions and faces intense Ukrainian military pressure.
President Raisi said the will of Iran and Russia is to improve the level of strategic relations in various fields, saying these relations are being strengthened and their prospects are bright.
“The cooperation of independent countries is the most decisive response to the sanctions and destabilization policy of the United States and its allies,” he said.
With Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine in its ninth month, Raisi and Patrushev discussed “various issues of Russian-Iranian cooperation in the field of security, as well as a number of international problems”, Interfax news agency said.
President Raisi said Iran’s principled policy is to oppose war, saying the expansion of the scope and escalation of the war in Ukraine is a concern of all countries, IRNA reported.
Russia’s top security official said the two sides are actively trying to develop cooperation in political, commercial, energy, agricultural and transit fields.
Russian state media said Patrushev discussed the situation in Ukraine and measures to combat “Western interference” in both countries’ internal affairs with his Iranian security counterpart Ali Shamkhani.
NourNews, affiliated with Iran’s top security body, said Shamkhani called for deeper ties across a range of sectors from energy to banking.
“Iran welcomes and supports any initiative that leads to a ceasefire and peace between Russia and Ukraine based on dialogue and is ready to play a role in ending the war,” Shamkhani was quoted as saying.
The Islamic Republic is “ready to play a role in ending the war”, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council added.
Shamkhani also underlined the “creation of joint institutions to deal with the sanctions” imposed on Russia and Iran, IRNA reported.
The secretaries of Russia and Iran’s Security Councils discussed the situation in Ukraine, security cooperation and measures to combat “Western interference” in their domestic affairs at a series of meetings in Tehran on Wednesday, Russian state media reported.