In an exclusive interview with IRNA correspondent in Moscow on Wednesday, Baqeri said that the talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia Valery Gerasimov were positive and constructive.
Baqeri pointed to the long-standing cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation, including expanded cooperation in Syria, saying that Tehran and Moscow made extended efforts to protect the Syrian Government.
Iran and Russia have always supported each other in the international arena and there was no misunderstanding and ambiguity between the two countries, as they hold close views on Syria, the Caucasus, the Persian Gulf, and the Red Sea, according to Baqeri.
Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamanei and Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi attach special importance to expansion of relations with Russia, the general noted.
He also said that Iran and Russia will hold a joint military commission meeting three months later in Tehran to discuss bilateral military ties, defense industry and military contracts, the situation in Syria, security in the region, and fight against terrorism.
Highlighting Iran-Russia cooperation on international terrorism, especially in Syria and Iraq, General Baqeri stated that the US knows that the unipolar period in the world has come to an end and Americans have to evacuate military forces from some countries in Southwest Asia.
He said that he had also discussed with Russian officials Iran’s purchase of weapons from Moscow in accordance with arms sales contracts signed between Iran and Russia after the UN arms embargo on Tehran expired in October last year.
The general underlined that the mechanisms Iran has devised to counter US sanctions should be maintained even if sanctions are lifted as a result of talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
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