MOSCOW, October 19. /TASS/. Russia is ready to maintain dynamic and versatile military cooperation with Iran, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at a meeting with Chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Hossein Bagheri on Tuesday.

"Our relationships are developing very dynamically and are versatile, which can be vividly demonstrated by our large-scale joint fight against international terrorism. We are ready to continue making every effort to keep the pace of developing our relationships," the Russian defense chief said.

"We have something to discuss with regard to further steps in the work in this direction. We are ready to take further efforts to keep the pace of developing our relationships," Shoigu said.

Russia and Iran are actively fighting international terrorism in Syria, the Russian defense chief pointed out.

"In moving in this direction, we can further carry out this work in various regions considering that the situation is not becoming easier. This relates to Afghanistan and the threats emanating from that region. This concerns both drug trafficking and the emergence of ISIL [the former name of the Islamic State international terrorist organization outlawed in Russia] on the territory of neighboring states," Shoigu said.

By Shoigu’s estimate, the situation is being considerably affected both by displaced persons as well as the United States, which has exited the country but continues calling on various states to support Afghan refugees.

This year, the Russian and Iranian Defense Ministries have an intensive program of joint measures, he pointed out.

"Today I suggest considering the most essential issues of Russian-Iranian military cooperation," Shoigu said.