After his talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Putin said the sides have selected 35 priority projects in the areas of energy, construction, terminals, railways, etc.
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“As far as Syria is concerned, any solution [to the country’s crisis] must be pursued with the knowledge and agreement of people and officials of this country”, said Khamenei during the meeting, according to his official website.
Russia’s Tass state news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying the meeting between Putin and Khamenei was “very constructive”.
SputnikNews today is reporting that an expert from Italy’s Institute of worldwide Affairs told them that, “Russian and Iran are the two countries in the world with the most gas resources” and that the cooperation between the two nations will be a game changer in the energy industry and supply of the world.
The visit comes as Russian Federation and Iran are increasingly cooperating in multiple arenas, notably their joint efforts to preserve the regime of Syria’s President Bashar Assad in his civil war by providing military support and diplomatic pressure on his behalf.
Those who claim for democracy can not ignore the vote of the Syrian people, he said, emphasizing the continuation of Russia’s air strikes against the terrorists in the country.
Khamenei also noted, according to Reuters, that having failed to achieve its objectives in Syria by military means, “the United States is trying to achieve its…objectives in Syria now through political means”, presumably referring to the proposed peace talks with U.S. participation aimed at ending the conflict in Syria.
As the meeting ended, Putin gave Khamenei one of the oldest Quran manuscripts as a gift. “There is no other way to reach a long-term settlement of the Syrian problem except through political talks, ” he said. First up was the situation in Syria, where the government’s army is slowly but surely leading the offensive against the radical Islamists.
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Since the beginning of the war, the United States and some of its allies have supported the moderate Syrian opposition and called for Assad’s resignation, while Russian Federation and Iran recognized Assad as the only legitimate Syrian authority. But some have speculated that Moscow could be prepared to see Assad phased out of power as part of a deal that would guarantee stability in Syria and protect Russia’s interests there.
