Russia and Iran pledge to strengthen bilateral relations

Russian President Vladimir Putin held bilateral talks with leaders of Iran and Qatar at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Kazakhstan on Thursday.

The SCO is an international intergovernmental group established in 2001 by Russia and China to counter Western alliances.

Speaking to Iran's acting President Mohammad Mokhber, Putin stressed that Russian-Iranian trade relations have significantly improved.

The allies pledged to strengthen bilateral relations, while Putin highlighted the increase in tourism between the two countries.

Mokhber, for his part, conveyed a message from Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that the “deep” relations with Russia would remain strong regardless of the outcome of Iran's upcoming runoff election.

He added that strong ties between Moscow and Tehran have changed "international equations of power”.

In a separate meeting, Putin thanked Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for his country's efforts on humanitarian issues "in connection with the Ukrainian crisis".

Iran is still choosing a successor to President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash in May, with a runoff election on Friday.