ST. PETERSBURG, July 12. /TASS/. Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf assured Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country plans to continue implementing all bilateral projects.

Putin held a meeting with the speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran on the sidelines of the 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in St Petersburg. The talks were also attended by speakers of both chambers of the Russian parliament: Federation Council (upper house) Speaker Valentina Matviyenko and State Duma (lower house) Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin.

"I would like to assure you and our Russian colleagues that the Iranian Parliament and the new Iranian government will continue to expand cooperation with the Russian Federation at the same pace as before," Ghalibaf said in his address to the participants. "Today, we are all determined to implement everything we have agreed upon with the Russian Federation."

In his words, major Russian-Iranian projects were launched during the tenure of late President Ebrahim Raisi. He thanked President Putin in person for the timely support he provided to Iran on the night of the tragic event that claimed the president’s life.

Ghalibaf made a specific mention of the United States and its allies, whose illegitimate activities impact the entire region.

"However, we are cooperating and acting as a team, and Iran and Russia have been successfully countering these threats and challenges," he said.

In his opinion, the two nations need to develop cooperation not only in matters of security, but in other important regional issues, including economic projects, as well. This includes the North-South Corridor project and energy projects.

"The Iranian parliament has adopted a five-year programme, and the North-South project tops the list of the region’s major projects. We are quite serious about implementing the existing agreements. I am confident that bureaucratic hurdles will not hinder the implementation of this project," Ghalibaf added.

In his opinion, Russia and Iran need to "properly address the areas, in which the Americans are acting against us."

"We will join our efforts in addressing these matters. Our military-technical cooperation is making strides. I think we can establish similarly effective cooperation on issues other than military as well," the Iranian official said. "Once again, rest assured that the successful implementation of these projects is beyond doubt.".