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14 Jan, 13:16

Partnership treaty to be signed by Russia, Iran set to last 20 years — ambassador

Kazem Jalali described the agreement as "balanced"

MOSCOW, January 14. /TASS/. The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty that Moscow and Tehran are about to sign is set to last 20 years, said Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali.

"After the agreement is signed, it must be ratified by Iran's parliament. Once ratified by the parliament, it will be in effect for 20 years," he said on Iranian state television.

The ambassador did not say whether the treaty could be extended automatically.

Jalali described the agreement as "balanced."

"In the past, in the times before the Islamic Revolution [in 1979], agreements were often imposed on us, so we remained in a weak position. But the current document takes into account the interests of both sides," he said.

The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty is designed to become a major milestone in the development of relations between Russia and Iran. According to officials of the two countries, the agreement covers all areas of bilateral cooperation and will open new horizons in various areas of Russian-Iranian cooperation, including defense, counterterrorism, energy, finance, transport, industry, agriculture, culture, science and technology.

Currently, the countries are guided by the 2001 Treaty on the Foundations of Relations and Principles of Cooperation between Russia and Iran. It was concluded for 10 years and automatically renewed for subsequent five-year periods.

On January 14, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty between Russia and Iran would be signed following talks between the presidents on January 17. According to the spokesman, Moscow attaches great importance to the signing of the treaty. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that the Russian-Iranian pact is not directed against third countries.