Russian navy ships berth in Iran, will visit Azerbaijan afterwards

Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 13

By Umid Niayesh - Trend:

A fleet of Russian warships berthed in the Caspian port of Anzali in Northern Iran, the Islamic Republic's IRNA news agency said Oct. 13.

The fleet carrying message of "peace and friendship" was welcomed by Iranian officials.

Levan Jagarian, Russia's ambassador to Tehran, who attended the ceremony, called for boosting mutual ties between the two countries in various fields.

Russian Consul General in Iran's northern city of Rasht, Maxim Baranov, also said that expanding bilateral economic, political and military cooperation is among the priorities of the visit.

The commander of the fleet is scheduled to meet with local political and military officials in the northern Gilan province.

The fleet will leave the Iranian port for Azerbaijan on Oct. 15.

The Russian ships will visit the ports of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan and will conduct joint exercises with Kazakhstan's naval forces.

During the 20-day trip aimed at developing and strengthening international cooperation between the Caspian states, the ships are making friendly visits to the ports of three Caspian states - Azerbaijan, Iran and Kazakhstan.

Last year the Russian ships and the ships of other Caspian states exchanged friendly visits four times. The Iranian ships visited Astrakhan and Russia's Volga region last year.