OREANDA-NEWS.   Vladimir Putin met with President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia summit.
PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Mr President, colleagues, friends, let me greet you most warmly once more, this time on the sidelines of the Shanghai summit.

There is no need to describe the relations between our two countries. Russia and Iran are neighbours and longstanding reliable partners. Our position is that we can continue this work in the future, no matter what the turbulence in international relations and with regard to Iran.

We have already carried out a number of big projects and we have other opportunities too. We discussed them when we met in person in Bishkek, and during our telephone conversations. Our experts meet regularly and work together the highest level, at government level.

We have a lot of responsibility for the region in which we are unquestionably partners – the Caspian Sea region. In other words, we have a big agenda and I am very pleased to have this chance to meet with you, Mr President.

PRESIDENT OF IRAN HASSAN ROUHANI (retranslated): Mr President, I am very happy to have this chance to meet with you on the sidelines of the CICA summit.

Some major changes have taken place in the region and the world since we met in Bishkek, but our relations have become even warmer since then and the trust between our countries has grown.

Russia for us is more than just a neighbour and a country with which we share a long history of bilateral relations. Together with Russia, we can make the region a calmer and more stable place. I think that our cooperation over these recent months has helped to lessen the possibility of war in the region.

As for bilateral relations, we have made some major decisions regarding our agenda and some big events have taken place. We are firmly committed to developing cooperation on our bilateral relations and on the regional agenda. I think that developing our countries’ bilateral relations will serve not just our own nations but the peoples of the entire region.

I hope that our meeting today will give us the chance to examine the issues of interest to both countries and reach some agreements.