Iran eyes enhancing security cooperation with Russia, China

Tabnak – Against the backdrop of increasing American pressures on Iran, the Islamic Republic is trying to secure its interests by upgrading ties with non-Western powers, most importantly Russia and China. The annual conference on international security in Moscow has turned into a venue for the three countries to discuss further cooperation.

In this vein, Iranian and Russian defense ministers have held talks on enhancement of mutual cooperation between the two countries’ armed forces in a bid to strengthen regional and global stability and security and in the fight against terrorism.

Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu held the meeting on Friday in Moscow on the sidelines of the Moscow Conference of International Security (MCIS).

Hatami highlighted the growing trend of defense and security interactions between the two countries in light of the determination of Iranian and Russian political leaders.

However, he added, the two states have numerous capacities for promotion of their interaction, and need to develop their military and defense cooperation in both quantity and quality.

Shoigu, in turn, said Tehran and Moscow have already managed to promote their military and defense cooperation to a great level, but the two sides need to maintain their military interactions in training, technical, and security fields.

He also pointed to the two countries’ cooperation within the framework of Astana Process, stressing the key role of joint efforts by Iran and Russia in the fight against terrorism and establishment of ceasefire in Syria.

"Cooperation in the Astana format plays a significant role in establishing ceasefire regime and stabilizing situation in the Syrian Arab Republic," the Russian defense minister noted.

Separately, in a meeting with Hatami, Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe hailed his country’s relations with Iran as “strategic” and said Beijing always defends the Islamic Republic’s interests in international meetings.

“The strategic relationship between China and Iran has been going on for many years,” Wei said. He added that the “meddlesome” propaganda campaigns by some powers would never affect the deep-rooted relations between the two countries.

He further voiced the Beijing government’s support for Iran’s stance on maintaining peace and stability in the region and said, “We see it necessary to always support the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the international meetings.”

Hatami, for his part, said Tehran is willing to boost defense cooperation with Beijing in line with efforts to establish sustainable peace and security in the region.

Hatami’s meetings with his Russia and Chinese counterparts were held on the sidelines of the eighth Moscow Conference on International Security, which was staged from April 23 to 25.