 |
Moscow Defends Military Cooperation with Iran, Hails Khatami's Visit
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov on Wednesday dismissed some Western media reports on Iranian President Mohammed Khatami's current visit to Moscow as "deliberate distortion and exaggeration" of some aspects of the military-technical cooperation between the two countries.
"This is an attempt to cast a shadow over our relations, which are developing in a dynamic and harmonious way," Ivanov told reporters after meeting with Khatami, who arrived here Monday for a four-day official visit.
The military-technical cooperation between Russia and Iran is not aimed at any third country, he stressed.
"There is nothing special about it," the minister said. "It is only part of our cooperation (with Iran), which is similar to Moscow's cooperation with other countries."
He pledged to develop such cooperation "within the limits of ensuring Iran's defense capability," saying this "will not hurt third countries and regional stability."
The foreign minister also said both Russia and Iran are " profoundly satisfied" with Khatami's ongoing visit and this will be mentioned in a final joint communique on bilateral relations and international and regional issues.
During their meeting, Ivanov said, the Iranian president expressed the confidence that his visit "will give a new impetus to the good relations earlier built between Russia and Iran."
The two sides agreed to coordinate their efforts in settling regional conflicts, including those in Central Asia, in the Caucasus, in the Persian Gulf area and in the Middle East, Ivanov said.
They also decided to intensify bilateral cooperation in various fields, including aircraft manufacturing, the oil-and-gas industry and the construction of electric power plants, he said.
"Considerable progress has been made in implementing many of these projects," Ivanov said, adding that both sides "have serious plans to broaden bilateral links."
On the problem of the Caspian Sea, Ivanov said Iran has raised some new proposals on determining the legal status of the sea.
"These proposals are interesting and we are analyzing them and will discuss them with other Caspian states," he said, noting that "the talks on the Caspian problem are currently at a difficult stage."
This is the first visit to Moscow by a top Iranian leader in nearly 40 years. Khatami will also travel to St. Petersburg and Kazan, capital of Tatarstan.
In This Section
|