Iran's president says ties with Russia set to grow further
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday he thought relations with Moscow would continue to develop following the inauguration of Dmitry Medvedev as Russian president May 7.
"Fortunately, relations between our countries are positive and we can see no obstacles to their development," he told a news conference.
"As Russian officials have said themselves, there will be no change from Russia towards Iran. That is why we think that our relations with Russia will continue to e
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xpand," he added.
He said that given recent world developments Iran and Russia will cooperate "in solving international and regional problems."
The president of the Islamic Republic said he hoped to stage a return visit to Russia following Putin's visit to Iran in October 2007.
On May 7, the Islamic Republic's ambassador said, "Vladimir Putin's presidency was a golden period in Iran-Russia relations," however, shortly before leaving office, Putin signed a decree implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1803 imposing new sanctions against Iran over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment.
Iran's president said commenting on the issue: "This will not affect relations with Russia," adding he knew that Russia was under pressure.
Russia is building a nuclear power plant in Iran's southwestern city of Bushehr. Western countries suspect Iran of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program, but Tehran insists it needs nuclear energy for civilian purposes.
