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Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. Photo/Times of Israel
Meet the President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday, Raisi stressed that Tehran is ready for a “strategic” relationship with Russia that will not depend on short-term factors.
“In the midst of extraordinary external conditions, when there is opposition to the unilateral actions of the West, including the United States, we can create synergies in our cooperation,” Raisi told Putin as quoted by Reuters. Sputnik, Thursday (20/1/2022).
He noted that sanctions by the United States and other Western countries are futile in hindering Iran’s development.
“We have been fighting the United States for over 40 years now. We will never stop Iran’s development and progress because of sanctions or threats, although we are now working for sanctions to be lifted,” Raisi said at the meeting.
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Meanwhile Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow expected Raisi’s visit to produce an “inventory of relations”, given Iran’s change in leadership.
Russia’s support for Iran during the Vienna talks, including Tehran’s tough stance on the need to lift sanctions on the Islamic Republic, has strengthened relations between the two countries. Shortly before the visit, media reported that the two sides were planning further military-technical cooperation, including a possible $10 billion contract for the purchase of Russian military equipment.
The situation in Iran has worsened since Donald Trump became US president in 2017. The 45th US president abandoned the hard-earned 2015 nuclear deal, which was signed between Tehran and the US alongside Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.
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