Official website of the President of Russia

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President Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon dear colleagues. I am very glad to have the opportunity to welcome you to Moscow. And I am very pleased that we have developed an intensive, practically uninterrupted, mutual dialogue at the working level.

Mr Ivanov, the Russian Security Council Secretary, was recently in Tehran. Now we have the opportunity to meet you and to receive the Iranian spiritual leader’s message.

Please let me express my hope that during these talks and together with the other participants in this process – and, of course, first and foremost with our Iranian friends – we will be able to find solutions to the complicated issues that we are trying to resolve.

Cooperation between Russia and Iran has a long history and is absolutely open and transparent. And we very much expect that while resolving difficult problems, especially those connected with nuclear energy, we will continue to develop our political and economic relations with the Iranian people and the Iranian government.

Iranian Special Envoy Ali Akbar Velayati: Many thanks for your warm words and for the warm welcome you have given me and my delegation in Russia. I would like to say that we are very grateful for and highly appreciate this opportunity. And I would like to express my full agreement with your remarks about how relations between our countries have reached quite a close degree of mutual understanding. In Iran we are very grateful for the fact that last week you sent Russian Security Council Secretary Mr Ivanov to Teheran and transmitted your message to the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Iranian President.

This event was very important for us. The fact that a reciprocal visit is already taking place and that there is already a similar message from our Leader acts as evident proof of how warmly and directly your action was received.