Russia’s upper house of parliament ratifies strategic partnership deal with Iran

ISTANBUL

Russia’s upper house of parliament on Wednesday ratified a strategic partnership deal signed between Moscow and Tehran earlier this year.

The agreement’s ratification was announced in a statement by Russia’s Federation Council, following a plenary meeting of the upper house of parliament in Moscow.

According to the statement, the 20-year deal, which was concluded with the possibility of automatic extension for subsequent five-year periods, aims to deepen and expand cooperation between Russia and Iran in a wide range of areas.

“In accordance with it, Russia and Iran seek to deepen and expand relations in all areas of mutual interest, strengthen cooperation in the field of security and defense, and closely coordinate activities at the regional and global levels,” it further said.

The statement also said that the deal covers areas including arms control, the fight against international terrorism, as well as further cooperation in sectors such as trade, banking, transport, energy, and peaceful nuclear energy.

It went on to say that Federation Council chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko instructed authorities to monitor the process of the deal’s ratification by the Iranian side.

“In principle, we would, of course, prefer synchronization of this process, but due to the peculiarities of the Iranian parliamentary procedure, this will take them more time,” Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko was quoted as saying by state news agency Tass during the session.

“However, at all levels during the negotiations that we have had and through the ministries of foreign affairs, the Iranians have declared their readiness to spur the process in parliament,” he added.

On Jan. 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a 20-year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement in Moscow.

The State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, ratified the deal on April 8.