On May 17, Kamal Kharrazi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, paid an official visit to Moscow. Kharrazi was received by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. He had a meeting with Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Igor Ivanov and talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov.

The sides expressed satisfaction with the ongoing development of Russian-Iranian political, economic, commercial and other cooperation in accordance with the Treaty on the Foundations of Mutual Relations and the Principles of Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran, signed by Putin and Sayed Mohammad Khatami in Moscow on March 12, 2001. They also noted the strengthening of collaboration between the two states on key issues of the world today, including the struggle against international terrorism and the eradication of illicit drug trafficking.

The Russian side spoke for continuing Iran's active cooperation with the IAEA on the questions of its nuclear program and the speediest ratification by it of the additional protocol to the safeguards agreement with the IAEA.

Pressing regional problems were discussed, the similarity or identity of the sides' approaches to Afghan and Iraqi settlement was reaffirmed, and their positions were compared with regard to the situation in the Middle East.

The official visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran Kamal Kharrazi is seen in Moscow as an important landmark on the road of strengthening good-neighborly Russian-Iranian relations.