TEHRAN -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, with both leaders placing emphasis on deepening political, trade and economic cooperation, the Kremlin said in a statement.
“A number of topical issues on the bilateral agenda were discussed, with the emphasis on further enhancing cooperation in the political, trade and economic fields, including the transport and logistics sector,” the Kremlin said.
A senior Russian security official met Iranian officials in Tehran on Wednesday and the two countries pledged closer ties.
President Raisi welcomed Moscow’s keenness to improve economic cooperation with Tehran.
He said expansion of infrastructural bonds, including the development of connecting routes among the Eurasian countries, would boost trade and economic cooperation in the region.
Putin said the North-South Corridor plays an effective role in reducing the cost of transporting goods, adding that the transit route would turn into a useful way for the expansion of trade and economic cooperation in the world.
The Russian president emphasized that Tehran and Moscow enjoy great capacities to develop cooperation.
The phone conversation came after Russia’s Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev held talks with senior Iranian officials in Tehran on Wednesday, during which the two countries pledged closer ties.
Patrushev traveled to Tehran amid allegations that Iran has provided Russia with weapons and drones to be used against Ukraine. Tehran has multiple times rejected in the strongest terms the Western claims, saying the country has had defense cooperation with Moscow for long and pursues a resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian last week dismissed media reports over Iran’s alleged support for Russia in the Ukraine war, assuring that Iran would not be indifferent if it is proven that Russia has used Iranian drones in the conflict.
Iran says it sent Russia a small number of drones before the war began.
The Pentagon said on Tuesday it has no evidence to suggest that Iran has provided Russia with ballistic missiles, days after reports emerged that Tehran was supplying such weapons to Moscow as its stockpile of conventional missiles was running low.
At a press conference, the Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said the U.S. military could not confirm the allegations about Iran. “We do not have any information to corroborate right now that Iran has delivered ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine.”