Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is looking forward to activating two comprehensive cooperation agreements with Moscow and Beijing, in line with a rapprochement policy with the East that aims to curb US pressure at the UN Security Council.
In two separate conversations on Wednesday, Raisi told his Russian and Chinese counterparts that the priority of his foreign policy would be to strengthen strategic relations with Moscow and Beijing.
A statement by the Iranian presidency quoted Raisi as telling his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin: “We have a serious determination to finalize the comprehensive cooperation document between Iran and Russia.” He stressed he was looking forward to raise the relations of the two countries to a level “that makes it a successful model for neighboring relations.”
Raisi also expressed his satisfaction with Moscow’s initiative to launch a mechanism that would open the door to Tehran’s final membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which Iran has sought during the past few years without making progress.
The two presidents touched on the discussions to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement, which were halted on June 20 after six rounds that began in early April in Vienna.
Russia’s Sputnik agency released a Kremlin statement saying that Putin discussed resuming the implementation of the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The Iranian presidency, for its part, quoted Putin as saying: “The joint plan of action cannot be held hostage to problems unrelated to the nuclear agreement.”
The two presidents are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Summit, which will be held on Sept. 16-17 in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.
Iran plans to review and strengthen a cooperation agreement with Russia, which was signed by Putin and reformist former President Mohammad Khatami in March 2001.
On the relations with China, former President Hassan Rouhani’s government signed a 25-year cooperation agreement with Beijing, as part of a policy drawn up by the Iranian spiritual leader, Ali Khamenei, under the title of “Aspiring to the East”, in addition to the policy of the “resistance economy”.
The two policies aim to strengthen Iran against international and US sanctions on the one hand, and protect it in the Security Council through the Russian and Chinese veto power.
Before Putin’s call, Raisi said during telephone talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping that raising the level of cooperation and developing relations with China was a “priority” of his government’s foreign policy.
He added that China’s strategic projects, such as the Belt and Road Initiative, “are fully consistent with Iranian interests.”
