Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on Monday talked up ties between their two nations at a UN summit dominated by Moscow's push on the conflict in Syria, AFP reports.
Russia and Iran both back the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and the Kremlin is pressing the West to side with him and Tehran in its fight against jihadists from the Islamic State group.
"I would like to note that our relations are developing quite actively," Putin told Rouhani at a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting. "As for our cooperation, we are satisfied with it, including in the international arena, in the fight against terrorism."
Rouhani likewise lavished praise on the "good consensus" between Tehran and Moscow on the instability in the Middle East and said the two countries "play a very important role" in ensuring security of the region.