Most western states not in favor of enhanced Iran-Russia ties, envoy says

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In an interview with Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Tuesday, Jalali expounded on mutual cooperation to counter sanctions as well as the challenges facing the two countries' ties.

Jalali who has been appointed as Iran's ambassador in Moscow several months ago, said that Iran-Russia ties boast of a historical background which has been preserved in the minds of the Iranian people.

However, there is no correct understanding about Russia in the post-Soviet era under Vladimir Putin among the Iranians, he said.

In fact, the two peoples have not traveled much to each other's countries and do not know each other well, Jalali said, noting that this lack of mutual acquaintance naturally damages bilateral relations. The people of Iran and Russia need to know each other better.

Unfortunately, Iran is the 50th trade partner of Russia and this is not satisfactory, Jalali complained, noting that volume of trade between the two countries is very low.

"In the tourism sector, we have not expanded our relations much," he said, noting that this is while some 40,000 Iranian students are currently studying in Russia.

Commenting on the two countries' cooperation in fighting coronavirus, he said that they have had close ties ever since the virus hit the countries.

Russians voiced readiness for cooperation with Iran in the field of health protocols and several Russian firms were prepared to sell medicine to Iran, Jalali said.

As to Tehran-Moscow international collaboration, he said that Russians were very active in removing sanctions, as President Vladimir Putin dealt with the issue personally and stressed the need for creating a green corridor among the countries.

Russian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement in condemnation of US unilateral sanctions and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the country's UN envoys in in Vienna and New York have strongly opposed the sanctions.

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