TEHRAN, Feb. 02 (MNA) � Leader�s Senior Adviser Ali Akbar Velayati in a meeting with Alexei Pushkov, chairman of intl. committee of Russia, said the two countries will never return from the path of long-term, strategic cooperation. Ali Akbar Velayati on Tuesday held talks with Alexei Pushkov, the chairman of the�international committee of the Russian�State Duma and other members of the committe on expanding bilateral and regional cooperation.

The Head of Strategic Research Center at the Expediency Council, who arrived in Moscow on Monday for a four-day visit, said the two countries hold long-standing unprecedented relations especially after the Islamic Revolution, adding Iran would pursue such relations with the East, particularly Russia, under the strategic guidelines proposed by Leader Ayat. Khamenei.

While touching upon Iran-Russia�s common interests and threats, Velayati said �one such instance is the Syrian issue, and achieving victory in this regard is highly critical and can lead to peace and stability in the region and protect interests and territorial integrity of neighboring countries such as Iraq and Turkey.�

�Extremism in the region is spreading to Central Asia and west of China and for this very reason, Iran-Russia cooperation can prove effective for stopping the trend,� he added.

Velayati then referred to the recent visit of President Rouhani to Italy and France and the visit of Chinese President to Iran in the past weeks, saying while Iran has been expanding its relations with other countries in the post-sanction era, the relations with Russia is long-standing and strategic, and as such the two sides must intensify efforts and take practical measures to boost the level of economic ties.

Velayati�also held a meeting on the Syrian crisis with Russia's Special Envoy on Syria Alexander Lavrentiev on Monday evening in the Russian capital.

By Mehr News Agency