“Naturally, both we and the Russians do not see NATO expanding to our borders in our own interests,” said Kazem Jalali, Iran’s ambassador in Russia.
“A collaboration against Western unilateralism is taking shape in the world arena, and we have to be vigilant about it,” Jalali was quoted in Entekhab news agency,citing Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Referring to Iran-Russia cooperation in the region and what he called a “successful experience in the Syrian issue,” the Iranian ambassador to Moscow added, “Not that our votes are 100% the same, but we can cooperate.”
Jalali stressed that Iran must seek “its own interests” in the large Russian market. According to him, in 2021, for the first time, Iran’s export volume to Russia reached about $ one billion dollars (about 3% of Russian imports). Referring to these figures, Jalali mentioned the lack of mutual recognition between the two countries and the lack of detailed planning for trade with Russia.