Russian Envoy Hopes For Expansion Tehran-Moscow Ties

Moscow, Aug 14, IRNA – Russian Ambassador to Tehran Levan Dzagaryan referring to positive trend of Tehran-Moscow ties here Tuesday hoped for further expansion of such relations. Ambassador Dzagaryan made the comment in a meeting with his country’s RIA Novosty news agency, adding, Preservation of political relations between Iran and Russia is a major part of the foreign policy of the two countries.” He pointed out that during the course of the current year several Iranian and Russian officials from different ministries and other state organizations have visited each other’s countries. The Russian diplomat said that from the Russian side there were the Interior Minister Vladimir Alexandrovich Kolokoltsev, Health Minister Veronica Skvortsova, Deputy Chairman of the Russian and Federation Nicolai Levichkev who visited Tehran. Dzagaryan reiterated, “The Chairman of the Russian Duma Sergei Naryshkin, too, attended the endorsement and swearing-in ceremonies of President Rowhani on behalf of Moscow and had a meeting with the Islamic Iranian Parliament Ali Larijani.” He reminded the former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit of Moscow last July and his meeting with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. He added, “Presently the preparations are being made for a meeting between the Russian President and the new Iranian President Hassan Rowhani on the sidelines of the upcoming Shanghai Organization Summit in Bishkek.” The Russian ambassador to Tehran said, “The trend of the two countries’ relations is positive and we try to maintain its level lest it would lower, and we try to contribute to the expansion of bilateral relations so that the presently reached agreements will be implemented and new horizons for cooperation would appear at sight.” Dzagaryan expressed regret over the lowered economic and business interactions between Iran and Russia, reiterating, “The lowered level of trade ties from $4 billion in the year 2011 to $2.3bn in 2012 reveals the existence of complicated issues involved in the two countries’ relations, solving which is in need of mutual efforts.” He said that the conditions are proper for achieving success, reiterating, “For instance we can refer to the Iran-Russia Economic Cooperation Commission, which meets regularly every year to strengthen bilateral economic ties.” ** Continuation of cooperation in construction of nuclear reactors The Russian ambassador to Tehran referred to his country’s partnership in construction of Bushehr Nuclear Plant, saying, “The construction of the first unit of Bushehr Nuclear Reactor is completed and therefore, the question is, what decision should we make for the future cooperation in this field?” He added, “For Russia at the present time sustainable usage of the first unit of the Bushehr Nuclear Plant is a priority, and after that we can survey the perspective of future cooperation in this field.” Dzagaryan said, “In this respect the Russian side has acted in accordance with its international commitments and its economic interests.” He pointed out that the Bushehr Nuclear Plant is functioning at 100% nominal capacity, reiterating, “Some final tests of this power plant are underway now, and after finishing them and making sure about the safe and sound functioning of the first unit, the Bushehr Nuclear Plant will be handed over to the Iranian side.” ** The Iranian presidential election was held successfully The Russian ambassador in Iran referred to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s 11th presidential elections, saying “I believe it was very important that the elections were held successfully and the Iranian people had active presence at the election polls and showed sensitivity towards their civil responsibility and the fate of their country.” Dzagaryan added, “Under the current conditions, the political atmosphere in Iran is quite normal and many analysts believe that the new Iranian president is an experienced personality and possesses the required qualifications for being a president.” He added, “During his days as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Mr. Rowhani proved that he is a professional and realistic politicians and I am sure he can make a cabinet of highly-experienced ministers and provide proper functions of the country’s economic and social apparatus and their development, as well as strengthening Iran’s status at the international scene.” ** Iran ready for establishment of relations with the west The Russian ambassador in Iran focusing on the Iranian president’s plans for establishment of relations with the western countries, said, “This is nothing new as the Islamic Republic of Iran has always announced readiness for expansion of constructive relations with all countries in the world.” “The question is whether the west has anything to propose to Iran instead, and how compatible its desires are with the expectations of the Iranians, particularly over the sensitive issues,” he said. He said that the assumption that Russia would lose its influence in the region if Iran would approach the United States and the western countries is quite baseless, adding, “Russia considers Iran as one of its major partners in the region, but the capabilities of this country for securing its national interests is beyond what it seems in the first look.” He added, “In addition to that, Russia considers improvement of Iran’s relations with the west as the required condition for solving many major international issues, including the Iranian nuclear issue.” The Russian reporter asked whether Russia and China might leave the nuclear talks table with Iran during President Rowhani’s tenure, and for instance the EU troika would accept the responsibility again. Dzagaryan said, “In Iran it is the Supreme Leader who devises the nuclear policy, not the president. The SNSC functions under the supervision of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and that is the source that deals with the sensitive and important nuclear issue.” He added, “Therefore, linking the fate of the process of elections with the election of a certain person as the president is basically wrong.” Dzagaryan added, “Therefore, it is not right to link the result of the negotiations to the election of a certain person as the head of the executive branch of power in Iran.” He, meanwhile, considered unilateral lenience on the side of Iran wrong, arguing, “The success of the nuclear talks depends on the will of both Iran and the members of the Group 5+1 for solving the issue. He ruled out the possibility of alterations in the combination of the negotiating sides, arguing, “The Group 5+1G was not established accidentally and spontaneously and there is a logic behind including the members of the UN Security Council in this group.” ** Iran-Russia cooperation in anti-narcotics campaign The Russian envoy speaking about the importance of cooperation between Iran and Russia in campaign against narcotic drugs, said, “proximity of the two countries to Afghanistan’s borders, which is the major producer of narcotic drugs in the world, calls for shared efforts of Tehran and Moscow in the campaign against narcotic drugs trafficking.” He said that the Russian Federation’s Anti-Narcotic Drugs Organization has made serious efforts for expansion of cooperation with Iran in this campaign in the course of the past ten years. Dzagaryan added, “In this while the heads of anti-narcotic drugs organizations of Iran and Russia have had several meetings and cooperation in the field has expanded noticeably./end