Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (center) and Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, greet each other as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stands at right, during their meeting in Tehran on July 19, 2022.
Photo : AP
Tehran: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday called for strengthening “long-term cooperation” with Russia, reported news agency AFP. Khamenei made these remarks during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a statement, Iran‘s supreme leader said, “The long-term cooperation between Iran and Russia is deeply beneficial to both countries.” He further added that there were many understandings and contracts between the two countries, including in the oil and gas sector, which should be followed up and implemented fully.
Khamenei said that amid Western sanctions there was a need for ever-increasing mutual cooperation between Iran and Russia. Earlier in the day, the Russian President arrived in Tehran to part in a three-way summit.
Also Read: Iran has ‘technical ability’ to build nuclear bomb but has not made decision yet: official.
During the summit, Putin held talks with the Iranian and Turkish presidents on the Syrian war. Notably, it was the second trip of the Russian President after the invasion of Ukraine on February 24 this year.
Khamenei blamed the western countries for the war in Ukraine. He said Iran is not happy with the suffering of the ordinary people due to the war. “If you did not take the initiative, the other side would have caused the war with its own initiative,” Iran’s supreme leader said as quoted by AFP.
Before Putin’s visit, the National Iranian Oil Company and Russia’s Gazprom reportedly signed a memorandum of understanding. The MoU is worth about USD 40 billion. On Tuesday Putin met Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi and discussed the situation in Syria and bilateral relations.
