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Russia, Iran making progress toward signing comprehensive treaty — Russian diplomat

"Because the treaty is wide-ranging, various ministries and agencies have been assigned to study it in both countries, and that is taking time," Zamir Kabulov said

MOSCOW, September 18. /TASS/. Russia and Iran have made progress toward signing a bilateral comprehensive cooperation agreement, Zamir Kabulov, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Second Asia Department, told TASS.

He said the sides are now working on a draft agreement.

"There has been progress. This is a usual process when such a large interstate treaty is being prepared. It is absolutely normal when there are some points in the draft treaty that require adjustment," said the diplomat, who is also Russian presidential envoy for Afghanistan.

"The sooner, the better," he said, when asked about how soon the agreement could be signed.

The diplomat said that, because the treaty is wide-ranging, various ministries and agencies have been assigned to study it in both countries, and that is taking time.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said that Moscow and Tehran exchanged a draft of the comprehensive cooperation agreement, and working groups were studying the text. Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali said the document covers various areas of bilateral cooperation, including politics, security, culture and defense.