Russian President Vladimir Putin said that “work is underway on a major new agreement between Russia and Iran and the work is in its final stages, and the agreement will represent the transition of relations to the level of a strategic partnership,” Russian TASS reports. ” News Service.

During a meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, he noted that “the volume of trade between Russia and Iran is 81% more than last year, and relations between Tehran and Moscow are of strategic importance.” “We are doing everything necessary for Iran to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,” he said.

For his part, the Iranian president indicated that “we do not recognize sanctions against Russia,” stressing that “we will work to strengthen economic relations between the two countries.”

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a large regional organization established in 2001 with the aim of establishing multifaceted cooperation in the field of security, economy and culture at the initiative of the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Later, in 2004, Mongolia joined this organization, and in 2005 Iran, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan joined it as an observer, and later Belarus joined it as an observer.

India and Pakistan became permanent members of the organization in the summer of 2016, while Iran, Mongolia, Afghanistan and Belarus continued to be members as observers until yesterday Tehran signed a commitment to join it as a permanent member of the organization.