Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that the Middle East can solve its problems without the involvement of the United States.
"I believe we are capable of resolving our problems in the region without relying on the United States," Pezeshkian said at a meeting with Putin on the sidelines of a summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Moscow on Tuesday.
He said trade between Iran and Russia was growing and that US policies were encouraging closer cooperation among countries facing Washington's sanctions.
"Our trade is expanding and growing day by day. US actions in the region make it easier for us to move towards greater multilateralism and strengthen our cooperation with you and other countries subject to unilateral US sanctions," he told Putin.
Putin said he discussed the war with Pezeshkian, expressing hope that the situation would improve.
"We spoke earlier, one-on-one, about the situation in the region - a situation that, undoubtedly, cannot help but cause concern," he said, adding that he hoped it would "evolve in a positive direction".
Pezeshkian said he was confident the will existed on both sides to expand cooperation in science, industry, culture, security and military affairs.
Russia seeks to mediate
Moscow has sought to mediate an end to the war on Iran, which began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Iran last week for the first time since the war began, saying Moscow's efforts were "aimed at preventing the return of a large-scale war".
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later said Russia and Iran had "never" worked so closely.
Negotiations between Washington and Tehran have been stalled for months, with both the US and Israel threatening to resume strikes on Iran.
