BISHKEK, September 1. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, at a meeting on Tuesday that Russia attaches much importance to expanding humanitarian cooperation with the Islamic Republic.

"We attach great importance to the expansion of humanitarian cooperation. More Iranian students are increasingly opting for Russian education, and we are very happy with this," the Russian head of state said.

According to him, in the 2025-2026 school year, there were almost 10,000 Iranian students at Russian universities, including 802 following higher education programs funded from the budget.

Putin also said he was happy to have an opportunity to host the Iranian president and his team to discuss numerous pending topics.