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Russia, Iran's military partnership unthreatened by US dictates

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
26 Aug 2023 18:12

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov says that the two countries will continue to work together despite US-led geopolitical pressure.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov attends a meeting alongside Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (both unseen) in Moscow on March 15, 2022. (AFP)

Russia and Iran's military cooperation is not subject to the diktats of the US and its allies, as the two countries can independently decide their policies, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said following a Financial Times report that claimed that Washington had urged Iran to stop drone sales to Moscow.

The official stressed that there are "no changes" in cooperation between the two countries, stressing that Tehran and Moscow will continue to work together despite geopolitical pressure.

"We are independent states and do not succumb to the dictates of the United States and its satellites," Russia's news agency RIA cited the diplomat as saying.

Iran has repeatedly denied any drone sales to Russia following the start of the Special Military Operation in February 2022. However, the two countries do cooperate on other levels, the latest of which was Iran's participation in the Army 2023 International Military Technical Forum, in Moscow.

The Iranian Army's Commander of the Ground Force Brigadier General Kioumars Heidari visited Russia this week, where he said that Iran and Russia will continue their fight against terror, adding that more cooperation can be expected between the two nations.

The Commander said that his trip to Moscow was "timely and fruitful," detailing positive agreements during a meeting with Oleg Salyukov, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army's Ground Forces.

Heidari celebrated Iran's presence along with 70 other nations at Russia's Army 2023, recalling that Iran's various land, sea, aerospace, missile, and electronic warfare capabilities astounded visitors and participants.

In addition, the Commander of the Iranian Army's Ground Forces and Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin met on Wednesday to discuss the progress of defense cooperation.

The two spoke of bilateral military and military-technical cooperation, touching on bilateral security problems and shared viewpoints.

According to TASS, quoting the Russian Defense Ministry, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to expand conversation and improve the degree of growth of interaction in the defense domain.