The Russian defense minister said improved Russia-Iran relations will contribute substantially to regional and international stability.
“We believe expansion of constructive Tehran-Moscow ties is a major element in establishment of regional and international stability,” Sergei Shoigu said on Thursday.
He made the remarks in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Lieutenant General Hossein Dehqan on the sidelines of the 3rd Moscow Conference on International Security, IRNA reported. Shoigu denounced sanctions imposed on some countries, including Iran, describing them as “oppressive” and “against international regulations”.
Criticizing the US for its unilateral actions across the world, he called for cooperation among all countries to help counter such acts. Dehqan, for his part, thanked Shoigu for organizing the security conference, underlining the necessity for the formation of a permanent secretariat to coordinate the implementation of the decisions made in the gathering.
Pointing to the close similarity between the positions the two countries have adopted on regional and international issues, Dehqan said, “We feel that the Russian government recognizes the necessity for establishment of a new world order,” urging the adoption of principled strategies to address regional and global crises.
The two officials agreed to examine the technical aspects of the S-300 missile system to ensure the delivery of the system to Iran by the end of 2015. Moscow and Tehran signed an $800 million deal in late 2007 on the purchase of S-300 missile systems, but three years later Russia decided not to ship the air defense systems to Iran under the pretext that it was covered by the fourth round of the United Nations Security Council sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program. In a recent development, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday to lift the ban on the delivery of the systems to Iran.