TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami and his Russian counterpart General Sergey Shoygu, in a meeting on the sidelines of the 8th Conference on International Security (MCIS) in Moscow, renewed the two countries’ determination to bolster military and defense cooperation.
During the Thursday meeting, Hatami and Shoygu discussed bilateral relations in regional and international arenas.
Hatami expressed his satisfaction with the growing trend of mutual ties in all areas of interest and reiterated, “defense and security interactions between Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia are growing under the auspices of the leaders of the two countries”.
The two countries enjoy high capacities and potentials for increasing bilateral interactions, he said and emphasized developing military and defense cooperation qualitatively and quantitatively in line with strengthening stability and security in the region and the world.
Shoygu, for his part, pointed to the enhanced military and defense cooperation between Iran and Russia and added, “Cooperation and interaction of the two countries played an important role within the framework of Astana Peace Talks in the fight against terrorism and restoration of peace and security in Syria.”
He also stressed continuation of military consultations and interactions in training, technical and security fields between the armed forces of the two countries.
Early in March, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanayee and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in a meeting in Moscow, discussed mutual cooperation and the latest developments of the Middle East, specialty in Syria and Iraq.
During the meeting in the Russian capital, Sanayee and Bogdanov exchanged views on different range of issues such as the ongoing developments of Syria and Iraq as well as Russia's initiative in area of collective security of the Persian Gulf.
The two sides also blasted the US for its unconstructive role in the normalization of relations between Arab countries and Syria.