OREANDA-NEWS  The death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is a great loss, he was a reliable partner and a man of his word, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

On Tuesday evening, the president held a meeting with State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, who will travel to Iran on Wednesday morning to participate in a farewell ceremony with Raisi.

"The death of President Raisi is a great loss, first of all, of course, for Iran, the Iranian people, and I ask you to convey my sincere condolences in connection with this tragedy," Putin said.

"Indeed, he was a very reliable partner, a straightforward, self-confident person, above all a person who was guided by national interests. But, of course, he was a man of his word, and it was a pleasure to work with him. I mean, if we agreed on something, we could always be sure that the agreements would be fulfilled," the Russian president noted.

Putin also said that Moscow is ready to help Tehran in clarifying the causes of the helicopter crash that killed Raisi.