TEHERAN, September 29. /TASS/. Iranian Supreme Leader’s top adviser for international affairs, Ali Akbar Velayati, has commended Russian President Vladimir Putin’s position as "strong and strategic," the Fars News Agency said on Tuesday.
"The recent regional developments require Iran and Russia to have closer relations with each other both at the regional and international levels and this cooperation can be a prelude to strategic cooperation," Velayati was quoted as saying at a meeting with Russian political expert Leonid Reshetnikov, who heads the Russian Institute of Strategic Studies, a think tank.
"The recent firmness shown by Russia and Putin, himself, on the Syrian issues are highly valuable and important strategically," Velayati, who is also the head of the Strategic Research Center of Iran's Expediency Council, said.
Reshetnikov, for his part, stressed that Iran was Russia’s key partner in the region and expressed the hope for further expansion of cooperation between the two countries.
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