Russia says work on strategic cooperation agreement with Iran on hold

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian presidential envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said on Tuesday that the work on the cooperation agreement between Moscow and Tehran has been suspended due to issues with Iranian partners.

However, in an interview with Russian state news agency RIA, Kabulov expressed confidence that the current difficulties would be overcome and the work would be completed.

"It has never lost power and is unrelated to recent events. This is a strategic decision made by the leaders of both countries," he said.

He said the process was put on hold due to issues with the Iranian partners, adding, "But I do not doubt that it will be completed before finalizing the agreement's text. The leaders of the two countries will then decide on the time and place for its signing."

Work on a new large-scale agreement between Russia and Iran became public in Sept. 2022, when President Vladimir Putin and his then-Iranian counterpart late Ebrahim Raisi discussed it on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

On May 19, a helicopter carrying Iran's president and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian crashed in the country's East Azerbaijan province.

A day later, Iranian Red Crescent Society head Pir Hussein Kolivand declared that all passengers and crew of the helicopter died in the crash.