Moscow keen to up ties with IRI
Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Viktor Zubkov, said Friday that Moscow wants expansion of relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Zubkov told Iran's Vice-President for Executive Affairs Ali Saeedlu that exchange of visits by Iranian and Russian officials is a sign of expansion of mutual ties.
The two sides met on the sidelines of the first Intergovernmental Economic Conference of Near-Caspian-Sea States that opened on Friday.
Zubkov said the two sides share common stances on different regional and international issues and there are many common grounds for bilateral cooperation in the Caspian sea.
Saeedlu said the ongoing Caspian Conference would lead to further convergence and bolster intra-level cooperation in the Caspian Sea region. He said Russian former president Vladimir Putin's recent Tehran visit has opened bright horizons for mutual cooperation.
He noted that coordinated stances can provide more suitable atmosphere for regional and international cooperation. He added that Iranian and Russian determination to complete the project for construction of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant is an indication of the two sides' decision to boost mutual cooperation.
Calling the Bushehr project "sign of friendship and cooperation "between the two sides, Saeedlu said Iran's president is personally looking into promotion of Tehran-Moscow relations.
The first Intergovernmental Economic Conference of Near-Caspian-Sea States opened on Friday to discuss a host of Caspian related issues for two days.
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