UPDATE - Moscow Hopes Iran's Raisi Visits Russia Once COVID-19 Situation Stabilizes - Ambassador

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd August, 2021) Moscow hopes that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi can come on a visit to Russia once the coronavirus situation permits, Russian Ambassador to Iran Levan Dzhagaryan told Sputnik.

"As you know, before the start of the pandemic, our presidents regularly met in Russia, Iran, on the margins of various international events. ...We hope that as the epidemiological situation normalizes, the right conditions will emerge for it [the visit] to take place," Dzhagaryan said.

The ambassador also said that Russia supports Iran's application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), filed in 2008.

"We have close, and on a number of international and regional issues, coinciding positions.

In connection with the SCO summit scheduled for September of this year in Dushanbe, I would like to confirm that Russia supports Iran's application for full membership in this organization," Dzhagaryan told Sputnik.

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed preparations for the upcoming SCO summit with Raisi when he congratulated his Iranian counterpart on winning in the recent presidential election.

Raisi won the June 18 presidential race in Iran with nearly 62 percent of the votes. Iran's previous leader, Hassan Rouhani, served the maximum two terms in office.

Ebrahim Raisi was sworn in on August 5.