Russia to continue cooperation with Iran on Syria : Velayati

TEHRAN, Jul. 14 (MNA) – A Top Aide to Iran’s Leader Ali Akbar Velayati said Fri. that during his visit to Moscow, Russia and Iran put an end to the rumors that Russia’s cooperation with Resistance Front has ended, adding Putin and Erdogan will visit Tehran to hold talks on Syria. Speaking to Iran state TV IRIIB 1 news program via video conference, Velayati said that he had had good talks in Moscow on bilateral relations and cooperation between Iran and Russia. On bilateral relations between Iran and Russia, Velayati said that the economic relations between the two countries increased by 36% during the first four months of 2018. He further said that in the past three years, 60 cooperation agreements have been signed, including an executive agreement and a variety of memoranda of understanding between the two countries, adding “so far, based on an agreement between the two sides, 30 percent of trade between the two sides is done using the national currencies (the ruble and the rial).” He added that national currencies will also be used in trade with China as well. He added that the second unit of the nuclear power plant, which will produce 1,000 megawatts of electricity, will be completed in the second quarter of 2019. Velayati also said in the transparent and explicit talks with Putin, regional cooperation was consolidated and strengthened, putting an end to the rumors that the regional cooperation between Russia and the Resistance Front has ended. He added "there were many baseless comments that Russia was against Iran's presence in Syria or that Iran should leave Syria, while what we heard from the Russian president is that we continue to have defensive cooperation between Iran and Russia in regard to Syria and the region.” The top aide to Iran Leader continued as saying “a meeting will be held soon in Tehran, where [Russian and Turkish president] Putin and Erdogan will come to Tehran and they will exchange their views with [Iranian President] Rouhani on a political solution to Syria.” He said that Iran and Russia are seriously opposed to the presence of Americans or NATO or any country outside the boundaries of the Caspian Sea in the region, saying that Americans are seeking to reach agreements with some Caspian littoral states. He further stressed that cooperation between the two countries of Iran and Russia in the United Nations and other international organizations will continue. With regard to his future visit to China, he said that the planning for the visit has not been done though initial talks have been made in that regard.