GORNO ALTAYSK, May 30. /ITAR-TASS/. Iran’s ambassador to Russia has said the construction of a railway to connect Iran and Russia via Azerbaijan will be completed soon.

Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin and Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei discussed prospects for cooperation within the Altai Forum currently underway in Gorno-Altaysk, the south-west of Siberia.

“The work is practically complete. About 40 kilometers of the railway line are to be completed. It is necessary to resume railway service between the two countries as soon as possible,” Sanaei said on Friday.

“There are another four joint projects, particularly Iranian railways’ electrification,” he said.

The meeting focused on issues related to the possibility for developing cooperation between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union.

On Thursday, May 29, Sanaei said Iran was actively discussing issues related to the Eurasian Economic Union.

“Iran pays much attention to this initiative and supports it,” he said.

“We maintain a good dialogue with Russia and other countries,” Sanaei said.

“We also discussed cultural relations between Russia and Iran, and prospects for the participation in the Dialogue of Civilizations. Moreover, Iran has initiated this process,” Sanaei said.

“We consider Russia as a friendly country. Our cooperation is very important,” he said.