MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/. The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty between Moscow and Tehran, to be signed later this week, is aimed at expanding economic cooperation, which will let both countries mitigate the negative impact of US sanctions, Iranian political scientist and leading expert on Russia in Iran, Professor Ruhollah Modabber has told TASS.
"The treaty is a unique opportunity for deepening relations between the two countries. Thanks to the strategic partnership agreement, Russia and Iran will be able to fight together against the threat of terrorism spreading in Central Asia. By expanding economic and trading cooperation they will counter hostile US sanctions," Modabber said.
He believes that "the conclusion of this agreement means that Russia, a friend of Iran, supports it in the face of confrontation with the United States, which is of particular importance, given the possible future talks between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump."
"The European countries led by Britain, Germany and France go to great lengths in their attempts to harm the Iran-Russia partnership, while pro-Western factions [inside Iran] favor cooperation with the West. Their beliefs are wrong. The Western countries seek to deceive the Islamic republic. I hope Tehran has a program for practical steps to implement the agreement with Russia," the political analyst added.
"Russia is pursuing a friendly policy toward Iran, while France and Britain have repeatedly threatened Iran in the past few days, and the US poses a constant danger to Tehran. The Comprehensive Partnership Treaty with Russia will enable Iran to counter the West’s hostile policies," Modabber said.
Russia-Iran treaty
The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty will be a milestone in the development of Russian-Iranian relations. According to officials in both countries, the agreement covers all spheres of bilateral cooperation and will open up new horizons in various areas of Russian-Iranian interaction, including defense, counter-terrorism, energy, finance, transportation, industry, agriculture, culture, science and engineering.
Currently, the two countries are guided by the provisions of the 2001 Treaty on the Basics of Relations and Principles of Cooperation between Russia and Iran. It was concluded for 10 years and was automatically extended for subsequent five-year periods. Iran’s ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali said that the new Russian-Iranian treaty will be concluded for 20 years.
On January 14, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty between Russia and Iran would be signed following the presidents' talks on January 17. According to the Kremlin official, Moscow attaches great importance to the upcoming signing of the document. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the agreement was not directed against third countries. Nor does it envision a defense alliance.