Alwaght- Iranian Parliament Speaker arrived in Moscow on Sunday carrying an "important message" from Leader of the Islamic Republic for Russian President.
“On my first official visit, I am carrying the Leader’s message for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said upon arrival in Moscow, adding the message concerns the strategic ties between the two states.
"Relations between the Islamic Republic and the Russian Federation are based on a long-term strategic approach, and accordingly, the parliaments of the two countries will negotiate and cooperate to deepen, direct and lay the groundwork for bilateral ties.”
Iran’s top parliamentarian further touched on the West’s oppressive sanctions on Russia and Iran, saying the two countries are working together in various economic fields to reduce the impact of the measures.
Moreover, he noted, the 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers, the coronavirus pandemic, the import of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, and the continuation of Iran-Russia cooperation in the healthcare sector are on the agenda of the talks in Moscow.
Apart from his meeting with chairman of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Viktorovich Volodin, Qalibaf is also expected to sit down for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Larvov and Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.
Iran's protest over misnaming of Persian Gulf
On Sunday, Iran censured Russia's Foreign Ministry for referring to the Persian Gulf as "Arabian" in its Arabic-language Twitter account.
“A note of protest has been submitted to the Russian Foreign Ministry through our embassy in Moscow,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said.
The Persian Gulf is a strategic body of waters connecting the Middle East to Africa, India and China. It has been referred to by historians and ancient texts as the “Persian” Gulf for millennia since the Achaemenid Empire was established in what is now modern-day Iran.
