Ahmadinejad, Medvedev discuss ties

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the Islamic Republic welcomes the expansion of relations between Tehran and Moscow in all fields.

In a phone conversation with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday, Ahmadinejad said Tehran and Moscow should continue cooperate with one another and remain friends.

Medvedev, for his part, expressed Moscow’s interest in expanding relations in energy, fuel and transportation, and increasing the volume of commercial transactions and said, “Russia is ready for every kind of cooperation with the Islamic Republic.”

In November 2010, Ahmadinejad met his Russian counterpart in the Azeri capital of Baku on the sidelines of the Caspian Sea summit, stressing that that two countries should stand beside one another as two neighbors who share common interests.

In December 2010, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding to increase their cooperation in fighting drug production and trafficking.