Independent states coop. to neutralize West pressures

In a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday evening, President Raeisi referred to last year's meeting between the two countries' presidents in Moscow, saying, "After this meeting, significant progress was made in relations between the two countries, and the pursuit of agreements and the travel of high-ranking delegations between the two countries has provided the ground for the development of cooperation and coordination in various bilateral, regional and international areas."

Cooperation and coordination of independent countries in order to ensure the collective interest at the regional and international levels will neutralize the illegal pressures and actions of Western countries, he said.

Expressing hope that the conflict in Ukraine would end as soon as possible, Raeisi stressed the importance of a diplomatic solution in this regard and stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to use its capacities to assist in the diplomatic settlement of the war.

"We have fulfilled our obligations under the nuclear deal, and now is the time for the United States to make a decision," he said, noting that the IAEA has repeatedly confirmed that there has been no deviation in Iran's nuclear activities.

President Raeisi further emphasized, "Regardless of international developments, Islamic Republic of Iran seeks to deepen and stabilize its comprehensive relations with independent countries."

Referring to regional developments, the President also called terrorism and various forms of occupation as two sides of a coin. In this regard, the two sides stressed the success of the model of strategic cooperation between the two countries in the fight against terrorism, the continuation of cooperation and increased coordination in the West Asian region and the Caucasus.

In this telephone conversation, Russian President Vladimir Putin also expressed condolences over the train derailment accident in Iran and noted that the two countries are actively working to develop and increase economic and trade cooperation, and referred to the increased the level of cooperation by 80%, saying, "We are interested in increasing cooperation in the fields of banking, transit, energy and agriculture.”

Referring to the importance of Iran's presence and role in regional and international cooperation organizations, including the Eurasian Economic Union and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Russian President added, "Iran's presence and role in regional and international organizations is in the interest of all countries and we support it.”

Referring to the efforts of the United States and its European allies in the International Atomic Energy Agency, Putin said, "We believe that their actions will not help resolve the current issues, and Russia's position is to oppose such actions."

MA/President.ir