Iran Press/Europe: Friday's meeting between Pezeshkian and Russian President Vladimir Putin was the third meeting between the two presidents since the beginning of Pezeshkian's administration. Their first meeting was on the sidelines of an international summit in
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and for the second time on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia.
The Iran-Russia Comprehensive Cooperation Treaty is actually an updated text of its previous version and is intended to replace the current bilateral document on bilateral relations and principles of bilateral cooperation, which was signed in Moscow in 2001.
The new document was approved by the two countries in early summer 2024, and the parties awaited the right time for its signing.
After being signed, on the Iranian side, the document must go to the Parliament to be examined and approved; a 47-article treaty the draft of which was prepared by Iran and was finalized last summer.
The treaty mentions 30 areas of cooperation between the two Iran and Russia, including economic, trade, transportation, oil and gas, Caspian Sea, judicial cooperation, international and regional organizations, parliamentary cooperation, peaceful nuclear program, health, medicine, science and technology, environment, sports, security, defense, military and law enforcement.
The cooperation totally is categorized into three main areas: Economic, Scientific, and cultural.
Furthermore, the treaty is an important step towards consolidating the strategic partnership between Iran and Russia. For example, the volume of trade between Iran and Russia has reached $3.3 billion in the past 9 months, with a growth of 14.7%. Therefore, the signing of this treaty primarily indicates the development of relations between Iran and Russia and will create new horizons for cooperation between the two countries in all areas.
As Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has noted, the signing of this treaty is not against any third party and is one that regulates the relations between Iran and Russia and outlines the prospects for cooperation.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had previously said that the comprehensive strategic agreement between the two countries is one of the factors strengthening Russian-Iranian relations and "in the interest of peace and security at the regional and international levels." The strengthening of Iranian-Russian relations also reflects their common strategy for confronting international pressures.
Undoubtedly, joint initiatives between Iran and Russia, as well as their coordinated actions in various regional and international alliances, can accelerate the transformation of the world order and lead to a more just political and economic system.
Iran and Russia face complex security equations due to the West's hostile actions in neighboring regions. So, Iran and Russia have strengthened their partnership amidst global geopolitical instability, which indicates the increasing importance of their cooperation in the coming years.
Kazemzadeh
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