Ebrahim Raisi meets Vladimir Putin, calls cooperation with Russia important in Iran's neighbourhood policy

Moscow [Russia], December 10 : Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi held a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow. During the meeting, Raisi expressed his satisfaction with the growing ties between Iran and Russia and termed cooperation with Russia important in line with Iran's neighbourhood policy.
In the statement, the Iranian President's Office said, "Dr Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, president of Islamic Republic of Iran, in his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Moscow on 7 December while expressing his satisfaction with the growing relations between the two countries, called the cooperation with Russia as important in line with the Islamic Republic of Iran's neighbourhood policy."
Emphasising the cooperation between Iran and Russia in energy, agriculture and knowledge-based companies, Ebrahim Raisi spoke about the good ground to take more effective measures in the development of cooperation in line with the interests of the two countries.
Putin highlighted the impressive reception of Russian businesspeople at Iran's trade fairs. He noted that the 20 per cent growth of trade between the two nations with a turnover of USD 5 billion over the past year indicates Iran and Russia's determination to open a new chapter in their bilateral relations, according to Iranian President's Office.
The Russian President said, "Transportation, road and rail projects are being made with good progress between the two countries, and the previous cooperation between Iran and Russia in the energy sector is experiencing growing conditions." Putin called the ties between Iran and Moscow at "best level."
While expressing his satisfaction with the Iranian President's visit to Moscow, Putin said, "The relations between the two countries are at the best level." Putin added that he believed that the ties between the two nations will become "wider and more dynamic" with the support of Iran's supreme leader.
Putin said that the two nations shared views on regional issues and discussed the issue of Palestine and Gaza. In the meeting, Raisi said, "What has caused the suffering of humanity is unilateralism and the unjust world order, one of the manifestations of which can be seen in Gaza today."
The Iranian President said Israel continues to fight in Gaza and called its actions "genocide and crimes against humanity." He accused the West of supporting Israel's "genocide" in Gaza, according to Iranian President's Office statement.
He said, "what is more unfortunate is that these crimes are supported by the United States and Western countries or it is faced with the silence and indifference of international organisations claiming human rights and shows their inefficiency." Raisi called for the need to stop the bombings and crimes against Palestinians in Gaza as soon as possible.
Earlier in November, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that the US government is the "main perpetrator" and "accomplice" of the confrontation between Israel and Hamas.
"US government is the main perpetrator and accomplice to this crime. Israel is the illegitimate child of America. It is America that has preferred support it over the sacred lives of thousands of oppressed Palestinian children. By immediately forming its security cabinet in the occupied territories, America encouraged the Zionist regime to carry out criminal operations against the helpless people of Gaza and called it legitimate defence," he said.
While speaking at the Arab Islamic Summit in Riyadh, he added, "The events in the Gaza Strip are a confrontation between the axis of honour and the axis of evil, and everyone must clarify which path they have fallen into."