Velayati Submits Rouhani’s Message To Putin

Senior Iranian official Ali Akbar Velayati has held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a special envoy for Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani.

Velayati, an advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, gave Ruouhani’s message to the Russian president in Moscow on Wednesday.

The two sides agreed on efforts for the promotion of Iran’s status at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), according to the Iranian embassy in the Russian capital.

The meeting, which lasted more than an hour, also focused on bilateral political and economic ties as well as Tehran’s nuclear talks with the Sextet of world powers.

Iran, which received observer status at the SCO in 2005, eyes the body’s upcoming meeting in the Republic of Bashkortostan next summer, where new membership will be discussed.

Iran-SCO ties have been on the up since President Rouhani’s first international trip to the 2013 SCO summit in Kyrgyz capital Bishkek and a 2014 one in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.

Iran’s 2008 application for full membership has so far been blocked due to sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program.

Tehran, however, argues that the program is totally peaceful and is currently engaged in negotiations with the P5+1 countries (China, Russia, France, Britain, and the US – plus Germany) in an effort to reach a high-level political agreement by March 1 and to confirm the full technical details of the accord by July 1.

According to the Iranian embassy, Velayati also met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak.

Putin  slams double standards on global issues, including Ukraine

On the other hand,Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned against the adoption of double standard policies in dealing with global issues, saying an example of such an approach could be seen in the developments in Ukraine’s restive east.

 “We all know how dangerous and destructive are double standards, indifference to and disregard for another man’s fate as is the case with the current tragedy in eastern Ukraine,” said Putin.

Referring to high civilian deaths in the conflict in Ukraine, Putin said double standards and indifference toward the fate of others are destructive.

The Russian leader further said aspirations of world dominance and military pressure on sovereign states could bring mankind to a dangerous line.

The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since Kiev’s military operation started in April 2014, in a bid to crush the protests.

Western governments accuse Russia of having a hand in the Ukrainian conflict, which has claimed the lives of 4,800 people so far.

Moscow denies any involvement, saying Kiev continues to suppress the ethnic-Russian population living in the area.

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