Russian, Iranian defense ministers confer on bilateral cooperation, regional security
MOSCOW. May 23 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Defense Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu met with his Iranian counterpart Brigadier General Hosein Dehqan on the sidelines of the Third Moscow International Security Conference on Friday.
"Your participation in this conference is a landmark event. The issues on the conference agenda are of paramount importance. Color revolutions have affected many of your neighbors," the Russian minister told his Iranian colleague.
The Russian and Iranian presidents met in Shanghai two days ago, which "was a demonstration of a special relationship between our countries," he said.
"I suggest we discuss the current condition of bilateral military cooperation, which is important for Russia, and regional security issues," Shoigu told Dehqan.
The Iranian minister stressed the importance of the Moscow conference and said, "The political administrations of the two countries had laid down a foundation for interaction between our departments."
"The U.S. policy is targeted against countries which pursue an independence course. It [the U.S.] aspires for a global influence, and Iran is staunchly opposed to that," he said. "We can build our relations on this principle."
The Iranian minister recalled the message he had sent to Shoigu and the Russian minister's reply and said that the message invited Shoigu to visit Iran. "This is a clear message to the Americans," he noted.