Iran, Russia Emphasize Need For Expansion Of Ties

Moscow, Aug 24, IRNA -- Iranian and Russian foreign ministers in a phone conversation onThursday evening emphasized the need for comprehensive expansion of ties and cooperation. During the phone conversation, Mohammad Javad Zarif and Sergei Lavrov discussed issues of mutual interest and regional developments. The Russian foreign minister initially congratulated the appointment of Zarif as the IRI foreign minister. The two countries top diplomats spoke about the status of the Iranian nuclear program and the dire need for resuming the Iran-G5+1 negotiations in near future to seek an effective strategy out of the prevailing stand-still. The two sides also exchanged viewpoints on shared stands over the legal regime of the Caspian Sea, as well as the remaining issues in that respect. The two major regional countries foreign ministers also surveyed the current status of the Middle East and North Africa, particularly the latest developments in Syria and Egypt. During their Thursday phone talk, Lavrov and Zarif also surveyed the time schedule for bilateral political contacts in the near future. The Soviet Union was the first state to recognize the Islamic Republic in February 1979. During the Iran–Iraq War, it supplied Saddam Hussein with large amounts of conventional arms though. Ayatollah Khomeini (P) deemed Islam principally incompatible with the communist ideals of the Soviet Union, leaving the secular Saddam as an ally of Moscow. After the war, especially with the fall of the USSR, Tehran-Moscow relations witnessed a sudden increase in diplomatic and commercial relations. By the mid 1990s, Russia had already agreed to continue work on developing Irans peaceful Nuclear Program, with plans to finish constructing the nearly 20-year delayed Nuclear Reactor plant of Bushehr. Russia and Iran also share a common interest in limiting the political influence of the United States in Central Asia. This common interest has led the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to extend to Iran observer status in 2005, and offer full membership in 2006. Irans relations with the organization, which is dominated by Russia and China, represents the most extensive diplomatic ties Iran has shared since the 1979 revolution. Iran and Russia have also co-founded the Gas Exporting Countries Forum along with Qatar. (Courtesy: Wikipedia for the background) /end