MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. External pressure and sanctions are no obstacle for cooperation between Moscow and Tehran, on the contrary, the ongoing illegal restrictions only help boost the positive tendencies in bilateral relations, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Monday.

Commenting on French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks that Tehran’s support for Moscow may entail further anti-Iranian sanctions and greater isolation of the country, she stressed that Russia and Iran "are cultivating mutually beneficial cooperation regardless of the West’s opinion."

"External pressure and sanctions are no obstacle for that. Rather quite the opposite, the illegitimate restrictions even have the ability to help strengthen the positive tendencies of the growth in Russia-Iranian trade, which had emerged over the past years," Zakharova noted.

She recalled that Russian-Iranian trade in 2022 had jumped by 20.2% "and nearly reached five billion US dollars." "Businessmen are entering new markets and occupying product niches. Logistics and payment infrastructure are being enhanced. It creates conditions for the further expansion of bilateral cooperation, first and foremost, in the trade-and-economic sphere," she said, adding that the two countries are guided by the interests of their peoples.